


Revert To Last Save File (but it's the wrong file)

by I_Dance_2_Silence



Category: RWBY
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst, Beacon before the fall, Cannon Divergence, Dark, Existential Crisis, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, More characters come in later chapters, Oscar Pine Needs a Hug, Oscar Pine has issues, Oscar Pine-Centric, Oscar goes back in time, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ozpin being a dad, Panic Attacks, Post-Volume 7 (RWBY), Screaming, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Time Travel, Trauma, death mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:00:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 80,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26674780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Dance_2_Silence/pseuds/I_Dance_2_Silence
Summary: Oscar Pine falls out of the Atlas vault after being shot off by Ironwood. He wakes up in the vault- except it's the wrong vault. He finds himself at the Beacon vault next to dying Amber in her glass coffin just before the fall of Beacon.This is a time travel story that begins with Oscar getting yeeted back in time and Oz has to figure out what to do with the traumatized child that will one day share his curse.Oscar learns that he hates time travel as he slowly delves into insanity after non-stop existential crises. If Oscar really went back in time, what's to stop him from time-traveling again? Will anything ever make sense? Basically, Oscar trying to unite humanity while constantly traveling through time.Canon divergence after Volume 7.
Relationships: Ozma & Oscar Pine, Ozpin & Oscar Pine
Comments: 224
Kudos: 323
Collections: Lemon's Time Travel fic Bin





	1. Wrong Vault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins like all other Oscar time travel fanfics:  
> -Oscar's final moment in the future  
> -Oscar wakes up in past and thinks logically about what to do
> 
> Then it gets funky:  
> -AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> -Oz shows up  
> -AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TRIGGER WARNING:**  
>  \- A lot of **death** description happens in this chapter. (Amber in the fall maiden vault and Oz burning to death mentioned.) It's not too explicit, but I'm not trying to cramp anyone's day here.  
> \- Oscar basically just screams and has **panic attacks** for a good portion.

The snowy ground approached quickly, and Oscar Pine managed to pull off the most incredible landing on his first try. Well, he survived the fall at least. For someone with no landing strategy or experience, that was pretty darn impressive.

Oscar heard Oz calling his name as the memories and powers flooded his system.

"You're back, aren't you?" He said faintly, before collapsing onto his knees.

Oz called his name. Oscar gave in to the numbness in his brain and passed out.

He had just been shot, after all. 

Oz was wide awake and rattled as he frantically tried to reactivate Oscar's brain. _I left and now... I don't think I can save him. It's too late._ Oz channeled some magic through Oscar's limp form. _He needs to get back to the vault. It's at least safe from the harsh weather. Maybe he can survive?_

* * *

It was oddly warm when Oscar woke up. _Great. Hypothermia has me thinking I'm hot. I'm probably a blue-lipped icicle._

He couldn't hear Oz anymore, but the memories were still there, lingering in the background. His head was buzzing, whether from Oz emerging from the depths of his mind or the pain of existing, Oscar wasn't sure.

Oscar struggled to move. There was a severe pressure on his chest where the bullet had hit him. _Am I dying?_

Oscar forced himself to wiggle his toes and fingers. He could feel his extremities move. And they hurt. But they were there and functioning.

 _Maybe someone found me?_ _Rescued me?_

Oscar opened his eyes, a struggle as the light above him was blinding. _How long has it been?_ When he got past the minute of squinting, he could tell the ceiling was high. 

Slowly moving, he managed to sit upright. The room was grey, not a lot of light from the sides, but just spotlights illuminating the floor from the high ceilings. He slowly sat up and checked himself for damage. He was filthy and bruised, and he had to prop himself up since his middle felt like there was a long sword lingering through it. 

Wheezing from sitting up, he looked for any identifiers of where he could be.

 _That looks like an elevator._ The room was huge, like the vault he had just fallen from.

A shiver shocked through his body uncomfortably. It looked too much like the vault from the winter maiden. Oscar turned around, expecting to see a grand set of colossal doors.

_That's a dead body._

Oscar shrieked, and until he quickly ran out of air. He fell back to his back, gasping at the pain from the small impact.

Adrenaline surged through him, propelling him to his feet. He ran towards the elevator, each step echoing like gunshots. Every footstep was like stepping on a nail and the resulting pain pounded through his brain, drilling through his rationality until the world became a whirlwind.

The elevator was too slow. The body was too close.

A dead body sealed away in a glass case like Snow White, covered in spider webs scars. 

Oscar watched the figure slowly shrink away with wide eyes.

Were his eyes watering from the slow increase in light or from pain shocking his system?

He blinked, blurry vision seeing the vault on fire. **Burning.** Oscar's skin felt like it was on fire. He had had this nightmare before.

_This is where Oz died. Where he burned._

_Am I so frozen that I'm hallucinating burning?_

Oscar wanted to wake up. The pain felt real, and he was exhausted in his sleep.

He wasn't sure what floor he was on when the doors opened. He didn't care. He ran out of the elevator and away from inevitable death.

The hallway smelled like smoke and every muscle in his body felt like jello as his frozen bones reacted to each movement like a shockwave. He was an ice cube on fire, tearing through the area at full speed.

There was a figure in the distance, in the direction he was going. He didn't want to approach but he wanted to leave the building. He was too afraid to stop. The glowing exit sign was behind them.

Oscar approached at full speed, as his observations obscured, pulse pounded, and brain buzzed. 

The figure raised their weapon. Oscar reached for his own. **Empty.**

Regardless, Oscar didn't slow down. Defenseless and unprepared, he was charging this mental hell with nothing more than willpower. 

Pain smashed through him. Oscar screamed.

Lungs empty, he dropped to the ground, unconscious. 

* * *

Glynda opened up her scroll, speed dialing Oz. _What the heck was that?_

Security flooded the area quickly. The Vytal Festival was close enough that the whole campus had been on high alert. General Ironwood had brought an army, after all. 

The child intruder was quickly locked up in an interrogation cell and guarded.

Glynda dialed again. _This is **not** the time to send me to voicemail Oz._

* * *

Oz awoke from his slumber with a groan. He had fallen asleep on his desk again. The festival needed to end, it was making him restless (until he needed to be productive, and then suddenly he was sooo sleepy).

There was a loud buzzing in his head. 

There was a loud buzzing in the room too. Oz spotted his scroll, shaking violently on his desk. He stared at it. It amused his sleep-deprived brain.

It stopped.

It started up again. Oz just watched it buzz in his haze.

_That's a lot of buzzing._

**_That's an emergency call!_ **

Oz grabbed the phone and answered adrenaline spiking as it shocked him into a more alert state. He was out of breath and panting as his brain sucked up energy like an inefficient vacuum.

"Oz! Someone just invaded the vault!" Glynda was in full panic.

"What?" Exhaustion seeped from his own panicked tiny voice.

"An unknown child just emerged from the elevator after setting off alarms in the vault, I need you here **now.** "

"Where are you?"

Oz pushed himself up, dizzy from the abrupt motion, and threw himself down the stairs towards her location.

* * *

Oz watched from through the one-way mirror. Could this child really be one of Salem's recruits? If so, he had done a terrible job of... whatever he was sent to do. 

Ironwood had his entire team digging up information on who the unconscious child was. So far, they had found nothing. If this kid existed, it wasn't in any of the main kingdom's databases. At least, not by any sort of DNA, fingerprint, or facial recognition.

The fact that he had seemingly teleported to the vault encased in a bright green light was also rather concerning. Who was this kid, and where did he come from?

There was nothing of value on him. No scroll, no weapon, no ID, just the green combat gear on his back.

The frail boy was collapsed in a puddle on the interrogation desk, shaking silently in his slumber. 

Oz watched the footage of the vault a few more times. 

_What if the kid has a teleportation semblance? What if this kid just spiraled out of control?_

_He looks like he was hit by a bus._

Oz strategized his plan. If this kid was just a random student who got unfortunate enough to teleport to a top-secret vault, then this situation required serious caution.

The buzzing in his head made it hard to focus.

He sat there for a while, replaying the clip, and tried to think. Glynda sat next to him, nervously, watching Oz squint at the child as he tried to piece together what happened.

The boy woke up screaming. He didn't seem to intend to stop screaming. Tears streaked down his face, turning the dirt on his coat to mud.

His body shook violently. 

Oz entered the room quickly, deciding that this child needed comfort more than he needed answers.

He knelt next to the small boy, rubbing his back.

This did not please the child.

The screeching wasn't very complimentary of the buzzing in his brain. 

Unsure what to do, Oz pulled the child into a hug, burying the kid's face into his shoulder. _If he reacts worse to this then touch is triggering him._

The contact sent the kid into a fit of flailing his body around to free himself from the hold.

Oz got the message, releasing the kid and moving to sit across the desk from him. 

The kid started using what resembled words in his screaming, but none of it was comprehensible.

"Breathe," Oz declared, trying to sound assertive with the headache forming. The kid clearly wanted to say something but wasn't calm enough to get it out.

Surprisingly, he obeyed. It was dramatic and shaky, but it was an attempt at a deep breath. He continued to 'scream' but there was no sound anymore. Besides the occasional high-pitched squeak, it was nothing but hot air. Like a whispered 'aaaaaaa' at full power.

"We're going to breathe in for four, hold four, out for eight. Ready? Okay. Breathe in." Oz felt bizarre inhaling loudly, tapping his finger on the metal desk to keep count. The kid did his best to follow along. He was struggling but he really put in the effort.

After a few cycles and a lot of gasping and rattled breaths, the kid was finally somewhat steady. Tears were still falling, but the panic attack seemed to have passed through the worst of it. He was still shaking with each audible breath.

The kid really didn't seem dangerous. He seemed scared. Oz didn't feel threatened, but he was concerned.

"My name is Professor Ozpin. What's yours?" Oz's voice was calm. He stifled a yawn from all of the focused breathing. 

The kid looked at him. He had beady hazel eyes that shimmered from the tears. He was in a trance.

"You're really here." It was a whisper, broken from all the screaming.

In all of Oz's strategizing, he had not planned for this.

"Quite so."

The kid drifted away, lost in thought. "I'm dead." It was eerily calm.

Oz raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

The boy thought about it. "I'm seeing dead people."

"You think I'm dead?"

"Of course you're dead. I remember feeling you die."

 _This is extremely creepy._ "I think he needs a doctor." Oz looked at the mirror. Glynda was surely making phone calls.

"Is this what it feels like to reincarnate?"

The kid suddenly had Oz's undivided attention. _That's a bizarre thing to say. Is this how it feels to be on the receiving end when I start explaining myself?_

"Are we inside of someone else's head?"

"What's your name?" Oz asked again, over-enunciating. 

"Why don't you know my name? You used to hide in my head."

"Then you shouldn't mind me wanting to know it. Who are you?"

"My name is Oscar Pine. I'm a part of you, remember, Oz?"

"Mr. Pine, I'm afraid you hit your head. A doctor is on their way now. It's okay, it'll be all better soon. Just keep breathing."

Oscar did not like that.

"Oz, we need to go." Oscar scowled in disbelief. "We need to save them, they'll all die! Please, we have to save Mantle. We don't have time to get better, I don't care if I die we have to save them, **we have to save them**. Please, how do I save them?"

Oz felt his skin crawl. This felt like a horror movie. "Mantle is fine. General Ironwood has everything under control"-

"You don't understand they're going to die, Salem is here, I need to go and save them. Just tell me what to do!"

Vomit crawled up his throat. _Did he just say Salem? Oh gods this is not some accident. What the heck is happening-_

" **Snap out of it!** " Oscar screamed at him. "I know you hate me but this isn't the time! James is going to kill us all, Salem is coming, and we have to save them!"

"Wait, Salem? What do you know about Salem? Why do you think she's in Mantle?"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to ask. Oscar began to scream, hyperventilating on the word "no." 

Oz tried to get him to breathe again, but he was no longer listening. Whatever had gotten the kid to magically obey his voice was gone. Oz didn't want to think deeply about that.

General Ironwood entered the room with a doctor. Oscar began flailing helplessly again at the sight of them. 

The general pinned him down as the doctor put a mask over Oscar's mouth, whatever gas it contained knocking him out. Oscar was not happy.

Ironwood took command of the situation. "We need to get Oscar checked out. Find any injuries and patch them up. Whoever this kid is, we need him to be under our command now. We need to find out what he knows."

Oz just sat there, pale and shaken.

"I want to know everything there is to know about Oscar Pine. Now that we have a name, this should be much easier."

Oz stood up shakily. Qrow rushed in and put an arm under him. 

"I just got here, so I'm not sure what's going on," Qrow whispered to Ozpin, "but I think we let James handle it for a minute. Let's step outside, m'kay?"

Oz nodded, letting himself be escorted away from the nightmare kid. Qrow reeked of alcohol and Oz almost asked for a sip. He had the sinking feeling it was only going to get freakier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo if you were ever wondering why most time travel stories with Oscar always have him wake up on the farm, wondering if it's a bad dream, I hope you understand why. Waking up at Beacon, no time to do the "is it a dream?" sequence and no time to plan and think about meeting Oz, is much more abrupt. If this story keeps going, it should get progressively less dark. I think.  
> But I was thinking about it. I wanted to skip the whole 'Oscar finds a way to Beacon' part so he woke up there. Problem is, without a heads up for any/all of the characters, no one is going to take it well.


	2. I promise not to leave (again?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oz starts to piece together Oscar's story.
> 
> Yeah, the kid is insane.

Oz sat with Qrow outside the building. The sun was out, casting long afternoon shadows in the comforting warmth of the daylight. 

They were sitting on the stairs, looking out at the world as people trickled by. Oz extended his cane to the lower steps and leaned on it, resting his chin on the orbed end. 

Qrow was to his right, leaning back with his elbows onto the steps behind him. He was sitting on a lower step to Oz so that if he looked up he would see Oz's chin.

Oz closed his eyes, soaking in the warmth. His head was still abuzz. 

Qrow watched the older man with drunken eyes. Oz ran a shaking hand through his bird's nest of hair. Qrow slid closer to Oz, resting his own fluff of hair on Oz's arm.

Oz reflexively wrapped an arm around him, a protective move that brought comfort to his soul. Qrow leaned into the contact. They existed there, just vibing out on the steps for a while.

"There you two are!" Glynda's heels clicked as she approached them. "We've got some new information."

Oz pushed himself up with his cane, and Qrow shuffled onto his feet. They followed Glynda back inside and through the halls to the new room hosting the child.

The boy was stripped of his green coat and was now in a plain white shirt with the Beacon logo in the corner and sweatpants with the school's name down the side of the leg. The Beacon merchandise hung on his thin frame, unlike the tailored coat.

There were bandages wrapping several areas that were previously concealed under his coat. His hands were no longer gloved but wrapped in soft cotton. 

_He seriously looks like he's been hit a bus. What happened before he teleported to the vault?_

_Is Salem really attacking Mantle while James is here?_

Oz shook away the thoughts, feeling his head screaming a high pitch in an onslaught of a migraine.

General Ironwood addressed each person in the room with respect. "Oz, Qrow, Glynda, Dr. Urbosa, our research team back in Atlas has been able to uncover very few papers on Oscar Pine, but what we have found is interesting."

The general motioned to a screen where he pulled up an online news article.

"Apparently, his family was living in a small town in Mistral before Grimm destroyed the city. This article lists all the survivors, and there aren't many. The only information we have about the event is the huntsmen report, and even then it's not very thorough. The huntsman was injured in the attack and didn't remember much. We are looking into the other survivors now, but it seems most of them are living off the grid."

Glynda sighed. "That's not much to go on."

Ironwood nodded in agreement. "I know, but at this rate, if we find anything else it will be a miracle. The odds of one of the other town's survivors knowing where he went for the remaining years is highly doubtful."

Oz leaned on his cane, exhaustion hitting him in waves. "He mentioned Mantle. Have you reached out to anyone about what he was saying?"

Ironwood's stoic expression hid his offense. "I can assure you, Oz, Mantle is safe. Salem is not there, but my team is on high alert just as a precaution."

Oz found a chair and sat down. This kid was draining whatever energy he had left. Oz zoned out as Qrow got himself caught up and watched the camera feed. Oz drifted off and fell asleep.

* * *

His head felt like it was full of lead. Oz tried to lift his head but it felt heavy and full like he had a bowling ball trapped in his skull. Oz finally forced his eyes open. The blinds were closed, but the lack of light seeping through the edges of the window told him it was past nightfall. 

Oscar was still asleep, stiff as a board, passed out. Oz pushed himself up drowsily, deciding to go back to his quarters to sleep for the night.

He walked casually, slowly maneuvering his way out to the main hallway. 

He was barely two doors down when he heard the all too familiar crippling screech. Dr. Urbosa from before ran past him. He decided to turn around and head back. The chair hadn't been too uncomfortable anyway. 

By the time he got back into the doorframe, the screaming had calmed down. He noted that they had strapped Oscar down and the whole image was disturbing. Oz went back to his chair and sat down.

Oscar got quiet **instantly**. 

He was still shaking like a small dog but he was silent. It took a moment for Oz to process that the child was staring at him with eyes inflated like beach balls. The stare was intense and focused.

Oz sat frozen, staring back with the same tenacity.

"Oz?" Oscar's voice was hoarse and small, a trembling whisper in the room.

"Oscar Pine." He responded plainly, remembering how important it was to the boy that he knew his name.

"I'm scared." 

If Oz hadn't been inspecting him intently he wouldn't have heard it. "I see that."

"How do I keep being brave?"

Oz thought about it. _This is going to be interesting._ _What can I say to get him to tell me what he knows?_ "Perhaps for a moment, we need to stop and process the fear. Understanding where it is coming from can help." Oz bit his tongue, hoping the kid took the bait to start talking.

"I had a really bad dream," Oscar spoke softly, but it was a bit louder than before.

"Would you like to tell me about it?"

"You already know."

Oz blinked. _I really don't though._ "Sometimes talking about it helps."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If you want to be brave, you need to get past the fear and talk about it."

"I don't want to hurt you. You might leave me again if I say it out loud."

"I promise that I'll stay right here."

Oscar wiped his face with his bandaged shoulder like a bird. "I didn't think you would leave me last time either. What if you get scared too?"

"I'll be brave. I promise." Oz was terrified, but dang was he a good liar.

"You lie a lot."

Oz felt his pulse spike. _Can he tell?_ "Why do you say that?"

"You've been gone for months, how are you still in denial that you lied too much?"

 _What is he going on about? Redirect, fast. I need to get him talking about himself and not whatever he thinks I did._ "I'm not. I'm working on admitting it. Maybe you can be brave and show me how to talk about it?" Oz bit his lip. _Smooth?_

"Okay. If you promise not to hide again I'll tell you."

"I promise." He didn't miss a beat. Oz had no idea if he meant that or if in Oscar's mental state he could be capable of keeping this promise. It's not like he had ever left him before, they had never even met. It didn't matter what he actually did if the kid just hallucinated something else happening.

"I had the dream again. The one where you die. It was different though. I woke up in the vault and there was this woman there. She felt very familiar. But she was dead and I panicked. When I tried to run away I felt myself, well, you, I guess, die."

The kid got quiet. Oz figured he was supposed to say something here.

"That does sound scary."

"But why am I dreaming, Oz? I remember falling into the snow, and it was just so **cold**. Am I having fever dreams? Am I dying? Did Salem find me and decide to torture me to death in whatever this is?"

Oz blinked, unsure what to take from that. "Well, I can assure you it isn't that last one. Let's go back to what you last remember. You were in the snow? What happened? Maybe we can piece your memory back together."

"Neo had just taken the lamp and I was on my way to find General Ironwood. If I couldn't persuade him to save Mantle, then a lot of people are going to die. He had already turned his troops on us, and he was clearly not thinking straight anymore. I found him outside of the staff of creation's vault. I tried to talk him out of taking Atlas to the sky above the Grimm since that would crush Mantle but he didn't listen. He..."

Oz waited anxiously. _What the heck is this kid going on about? Is he insane?_

_Did Salem do something to him? How else would he know so many top-secret terms?_

"Say it. Get it out of your system." _Not just for your sake, but for ours. If we're going to help you, we need to know what you know._

Oscar just cried.

Dr. Urbosa looked at Oz, horror-struck. 

Oz whispered to him, "you didn't give him nay hallucinogens, did you?"

Dr. Urbosa shook his head.

"Can I unstrap him? I think he could use his range of motion."

"With all due respect," the doctor whispered back, "I'm unsure you'll be able to contain him. It took the general, Glynda, and one of the door guards to get him down once you left. He may have been asleep, but the kid is surprisingly strong."

Oz raised an eyebrow. "I do believe I can handle it." _I have magic, yet I doubt this kid will make me use it._

"Let me ask the general first."

Oz almost scoffed but didn't. James had the crew that listened to no one but him and he had long since come to terms with it. 

Oz sat on the edge of the medical bed and ran his fingers through Oscar's hair. He leaned into the touch. Oz ignored the fact this his hair was oily and thick with sweat. This wasn't the time to be anything but kind. He could deal with greasy hair if it meant a calmer and more sane Oscar.

The doctor was still on the phone when Oscar whispered again.

"Why did James kill me?"

Oz felt his breath hitch. _What?_

"James didn't kill you. You're in the hospital right now."

"No."

 _Oo-okay. What am I supposed to say to that?_ "I think whatever really happened has been making you hallucinate."

Oscar narrowed his eyebrows. "And that's why you want me to try to figure out what happened. Hypothermia must have me going crazy. What else am I too sick to know about myself?"

"Your aura is low, but it's no longer broken. You're healing."

"Huh. What if nice people found me and saved me from the cold?" He paused, somehow getting quieter. "Have I been scaring the people who saved me?"

 _This is too much thinking._ "Perhaps. Although if they recognized health to be an issue, I don't think they would be too upset if you acted strangely."

Oscar thought about that. "What if I'm being kidnapped? Something is pinning me down, Oz. I don't think that much is in my head."

"Or perhaps you're at the hospital and they strapped you in for a procedure? Seeing as your health is improving I would think you're somewhere safe."

"What if it's a false sense of security?"

"Then we will handle it as it happens. Rest, Oscar."

Oscar nodded, drifting back to sleep.

Oz walked back to his chair so he could whisper to the doctor away from the boy. Oscar stirred when he left but didn't wake.

"The general says he wants to be here with backup if you plan to remove the straps. He's quite unstable."

"Yes, he does appear to be. I'm assuming you're the one that patched him up?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'd like to know what is going on with him medically."

"Well, normally there would be patient confidentiality, but... I don't think that applies here."

"Go on then."

The doctor considered it. "He had severely damaged tissue on his torso, and whatever hit him was small. We're assuming it was a bullet. His aura was shattered a while ago, and its a miracle he didn't die from whatever hit him. From the bruises, we're assuming he was in a fight. Seems like he was thrown around quite a bit. From what we can tell, he lost pretty bad."

Oz wasn't sure how to respond to that. "He's probably delirious and delusional. Hopefully, we can get some more answers when he wakes up again. He seems to be projecting whatever happened onto whoever he meets."

He sat down in the chair again. _Except for the fact that he has a strangely intimate knowledge of all kinds of top-secret issues. There's more going on here than "crazy" but I doubt the doctor can handle that._

"You can go home, sir. You don't need to stay."

"I told the kid I would. Besides, this is important to me."

The doctor nodded. "My shift ends in a few hours. I'll make sure the doctor is well informed before I go. There's a buzzer over there if you need anything."

With that, he left. 

Oz pulled out his scroll and typed out a message for Glynda. "Will you handle all of the Vytal Festival preparations for a bit? I get the feeling this is going to drain a lot of my attention. I know you're dealing with a lot, but at this point, I think splitting up the duties is a good strategy. Our patient seems to like me."

He deleted that last sentence. "If you think this is a good arrangement, let me know."

He sent the text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh. I'm surprised I wrote the next chapter so quickly.


	3. Hi Hungry I'm Dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They wake up in the hospital room. Sleep helped, but there's still a lot of questions left to answer.

Oz didn't see Glynda's response until morning, well, afternoon really, when he finally woke up. It read, "I think you're best equipped to handle this information anyway." It was followed by another, "Besides, it's not like you were really being helpful anyway, sleepyhead."

Oz smirked. He was so lucky to have her.

He scrolled through his notifications, sorting through his email for the day. Getting through his morning notifications, he decided to get all available updates on the boy. He looked up to figure out what devices attached to the boy he knew how to read.

Oscar was staring at him intently. 

_Did I really not notice him wake up?_ "Good morning."

Oscar didn't respond but stared blankly at the wall.

"Feeling any better?"

Oscar shook his head subtly. 

"Are you hungry?"

That was a large nod. 

Oz pulled his face into a tight-lipped smile. _Maybe he'll be normal-er now?_

Oz got up. Oscar made a disgruntled noise of disapproval. Oz eyed him wearily.

"Food isn't going to just arrive, we have to ask for it."

Oscar grumbled. Oz moved again and the kid whined.

"I'm not leaving, okay? I'm getting someone to bring you food."

The child pouted, clearly uncomfortable. Oz felt his head buzz again, but went over to the non-emergency buzzer and dialed in. 

"They have pancakes with eggs and sausage. Does that sound good?"

Oscar nodded weakly. Oz sighed and placed the order. Noting they were awake, the doctor on shift came in to check on them. She was very young, her braided hair pulled back into a tight bun. 

"Hello! I'm Dr. Shannel Williams. I'm glad to see you're awake." She smiled at Oscar.

He didn't smile back but instead looked to the ground. _Why is he suddenly acting so shy? Did I just not notice yesterday?_

The doctor was unbothered by Oscar's lack of congeniality and continued. "Are you feeling any better? Are you in any pain?"

Oscar shook his head.

"Well, that's dandy. From what I can see, your aura is doing a lot of good right now."

Oscar nodded.

"Pancakes are on their way, sugar. Is there anything else I can getcha?"

Oscar shook his head.

"No? Well alright then. Did you sleep okay?"

He nodded.

"Well, that's good. We've got a TV in here, would you like me to put something on for ya?"

Oscar turned towards her. Curiosity sparkled softly in his red-rimmed eyes.

"I can browse the channels and see what's on, how about that?"

Oscar nodded, fully intrigued. Dr. Williams settled on some cartoons. The boy was enamored by the flickering lights of the screen. _He's not going to start thinking the cartoons are real, is he?_

It was an older animated cartoon, the Biggley Bongos if Oz remembered correctly, but Oscar was fascinated nevertheless. 

"Technology really has come so far." Oscar's voice was hoarse. _When was the last time he had water?_

Oz noticed the untouched water on the side table but decided not to push the issue. 

"It certainly has. Have you ever watched Biggley Bongos before?"

Oscar shook his head. 

"What do you normally watch?"

Oscar's eyes flickered away from the TV screen for a moment, just to read Oz's expression.

"I've never had the chance to watch TV before."

"Oh."

_What kid hasn't seen TV ever? He really is from off the grid, isn't he? What happened to him?_

_Unless he can't tell the difference between fiction and reality and his family wouldn't let him watch any?_

_Still, what are the odds he just came up with 'Salem' on his own?_

_No, he's more than crazy._

Food arrived shortly and was set down on a tray in front of Oscar. A matching order was placed near Oz. Oscar stared at it but didn't move.

Oz took a few bites, hoping that would reassure the kid to eat a little. Oscar just watched him.

He was uncomfortable having someone watch him eat, especially with such an intense stare.

"Are you going to eat, Oscar?"

"I can't."

Oz held back a sigh.

"Did your appetite go away?"

Oscar shook his head. "I can't move."

It took Oz a moment to process what he meant. _He's still strapped down. Oh. No wonder he's so still._

Against General Ironwood's wishes, Oz walked over and freed the kid from his bindings.

"Did you forget about me?" It was a mere whisper, but there was volume to it that filled the room.

"No. I'm just a bit out of it too, that's all. I'm sorry."

The kid rubbed his wrists before quickly downing half of the water glass by him. Oz sat back down to eat. Oscar tore through the food, clearly starved. _Was he hungry last night too? He is very thin._

It was a good meal, and Oscar was considerably calmer now that he could wiggle. He wiggled a lot. It worked for him though, and color was slowly returning to his face. It hadn't been half an hour and he already looked considerably better.

Oz just ate slowly, carefully observing his young patient. 

"Would you like more food?"

He shook his head for no. There was an unspoken yes in Oscar's response, as his wiggles betrayed him. Oz buzzed in and let the assistance team know. 

Dr. Williams came back with a place of steaming eggs and a bright smile. She set down the eggs and almost jumped back when he moved for them. 

_Did they think I was going to spoon feed him or something?_

She tried to hide that she was startled, but Oscar clearly noticed. He lay all the way back down and was completely still as if he was still tied down. Fear lit up his golden-hued eyes as he stared into her panicked brown ones. _He's very expressive. Food really helped bring him back to a state of semi-normal. I think._

_Would he have said something if I wasn't here? Would he have sat silently and suffered? Would anyone have noticed he was awake?_

_It's not like he could have pressed the button._

The doctor left quickly. Oscar didn't move.

"Is it safe now?" He whispered.

Oz frowned. "You're fine, Oscar. I don't think they meant to leave you strapped down."

Oscar disagreed, but didn't say anything. He squirmed as he shoveled more hot food down his throat.

Oz finished eating and quietly watched Oscar. The cartoon was no longer in his focus, as his eyes drifted off into a corner of the room. He was lost in his own head. Oz refilled Oscar's water and sat back down. 

Oscar didn't seem to notice other than an increase in wiggles until Oz sat back down. Oz almost got up to immediately refill it again as he practically chugged the whole thing.

It was a while after Oscar finished eating until he finally spoke. "So.... now what?"

"What do you figure?" Oz rested his head on his hand, leaning on the armrest.

"Well... I don't think I'm in Mantle anymore. And this isn't Atlas either. I'm not sure what's going on, but we do need a plan. I think the next best step is to figure out how long I've been out." _He sounds less crazy and more rationale. Food helped drastically._

"Who were you last with? Perhaps we can find them and ask." 

Oscar nodded. "I was with Jaune, Ren, and Nora. They were headed out to meet team RWBY and Maria when we parted ways. And then Ironwood but he uh..." Oscar shook away the thought.

_What?_

"Maybe if I find my way back to Atlas, I can get out of... whatever bizarre mental limbo this is."

Oz blinked. _Never mind, he is still definitely insane. But why does he know the names of my students? It's one thing to bring up people he met after the vault but surely he doesn't know random first-year students._

Oscar stared at Oz, trying to piece together his own mystery. 

"This is reality. You're not in any mental limbo. I can assure you of that much. Although, I am curious as to what led you to believe that."

Oscar raised an eyebrow. "We're in the same room. Talking. If this isn't in some weird mental plane, then you're not really **you** but I can sense you. So either we're in some mental dimension or this is an obscure reality. You're Oz, the real one, I can sense the magic. Either that or you're Salem."

Oscar must not have really considered that until he said it out loud. He flared up defensively and took a stance. It was weak but present.

"Woah, there. Please, I'm not _her_ and if we're going to figure out whatever it is that is going on with you, we can do it together."

There were many emotions on Oscar's face, none of them looked good for Oz. _He's met Salem? What did she do to him?_

"Why should I trust you? Oz is a liar and Salem is manipulative. No matter who you are, you probably don't have good intentions."

 _Why would she attack this random boy? That's a bit out of her usual._ "Is there some way I can prove to you that this is real and that I'm being honest?"

Oscar thought about it.

"If I decide I want to leave, you have to let me. If you agree, I'll hear you out."

Oz sighed. "You realize trust works both ways, right? As far as I am concerned, you are a mentally unstable teenager with knowledge of classified information. You seem innocent enough, but I can't just let you go."

Oscar leaned back. "That was a very Oz thing to say. May I see Long Memory?"

Oz hesitated. "My cane?"

"Yes. I want to verify that it's real."

Oz obliged against his better judgment. He had magic and could always take it back if need be. _Unless he teleports away with it._

_Is it worth the risk?_

_Yes. I need his trust to find out what he knows. If he really did run into Salem, maybe we could get insight on her next ploy._

Oscar ran his fingers across the handle of it before handing it back. _Thank goodness._

"I have come down to three options. One, you're really Oz and you magically came back to life. That's not very likely. Two, you're Salem and you stole Long Memory from me when I fell. A bit more likely, but I doubt she'd put in this much effort just to mess with me. Or three, the most likely, we're dead and trapped in some mental dimension until Ozma finally stops reincarnating."

Oz blinked back his confusion. "I don't think it's any?" _What the heck does this kid know?_

"Really? What were you going with?"

"I've never died. So perhaps we're just living in regular ol' reality?" 

"I watched you die. I **felt** you die."

"Really now? Enlighten me." _Maybe I can show him that he made it up?_

"Everything was on fire..." was all Oscar managed to get out before the panic set in.

Oz gave him a moment to calm himself, and he did. _Who am I kidding, I can't explain logic to crazy-boy. He literally thinks he's talking to a dead man!_

"Oscar, that never happened. Perhaps you're thinking of someone else?" _Why do I still try?_

"You died during the Vytal tournament. It was a pretty big deal. I'm not crazy."

 _Excuse me for being sensible and disagreeing._ "The Vytal tournament hasn't even happened yet. I'm assuming you're talking about the 40th Vytal tournament that takes place in about a month?"

Oscar was dumbfounded. " **What**?"

"I think you hit your head quite hard, young man."

"Beacon... is it..."

Oz waited, but Oscar didn't finish.

"Beacon is it what? What do you think happened to Beacon?"

"Is it still standing?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Oscar's eyes shot open. "Can I see it?"

Oz was troubled. This was strange, even by his standards. "Perhaps let's consult a doctor first. I'm rather concerned about your well-being."

_What does this kid think happened to Beacon?_

Oscar had every intention to throw a fit and insist going out to see it when none other than General James Ironwood walked in.


	4. The General Is Not A Fan (but Oscar thinks he blows a lot of hot air)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The general walks in on Oscar and Oz's conversation. He would like to say something, thank you very much. 
> 
> Oscar wishes he wouldn't. :/

Oscar felt himself panic. _He's gonna kill me._

The general eyed him with contempt and Oscar's heart rate flew through the roof. 

_Do I play dead or run?_

"How did you escape these ties, little one?" The general's words would have almost come off as playful if Oscar couldn't still feel the ghost of his mechanical hand pinning his arm down in a death grip.

"General, it's good to see you," Oz smiled fakely. _Is everything about this man fake? How did no one notice before?_

_How did I not notice before?_

Oz continued. "I unstrapped him so he could eat. He's been just fine, I see no reason to leave him constrained."

The general frowned. Oscar had pushed himself as far back on the bed as possible, getting his back to hit the wall. _There's nowhere else to run. Please don't get near me._

"Oz, he's quite dangerous. I understand that you can handle it, but I also have an obligation to my staff to ensure their safety."

Oscar scoffed. Both adults looked over to him curiously. _Whoops._

"General," Oz had a hint of annoyance in his voice, "I'm not leaving Oscar right now. Everyone is perfectly fine. Let me handle it."

"That's not what Dr. Williams said."

"Pardon?"

"She was not warned that the room was not secured before she entered. She could have been attacked before you could get to her."

"I believe Oscar is more afraid of us then we are of him."

Oscar whined internally, hoping to be as invisible as he felt. _This is so embarrassing. Is it really that obvious?_

"We don't know anything about him! If he really means us no harm then he should be perfectly fine with being constrained while any non-huntsmen are in the room."

"He's just a child, James."

"Said **Child** doesn't like being talked about," Oscar whispered, flustering both adults. _Andddd they're staring at me._ "I'm right here, ya know."

The general scowled. "Who are you and what do you want?" He leaned over towards him.

Oscar's nose scrunched up, a mix of deep thought and disgust on his face. _If I can smell your breath, you are beyond too close to me._

"Can't I just talk to Oz?" He hoped he didn't sound too childish, but he meant it.

"I don't trust you." The general loomed over him. _He's literally blocking the light! This man is a human skyscraper except, unlike skyscrapers, he has a gun. I would know, I've been shot by it._

"Well, you **can** trust me when I say that the distrust is mutual." Oscar glowered at him, hoping to look scary.

It looked more like a pout.

Oz sighed. "Is there a reason you're here, James?"

"I'm here to strap Oscar down so the doctor can enter safely. They want to do another check-up."

Oz glanced between the two of them. There was visible tension strung between them. "Perhaps I should do it if it's so necessary?"

The general wasn't pleased but conceded. "Don't underestimate him, Oz. There's something off about this kid." He crossed his arms.

Oz walked over, but Oscar made no move to lie back down over the straps. Oscar squinted viciously at Oz when he raised his hands to pull him out of the corner.

Oz sighed. "Give us a moment, James?"

The general obeyed Oz, leaving the room and blocking the door.

_Please don't make me do this._

"Oscar, would you let me strap you down? Apparently, you frighten the doctors."

Oscar hesitated. _Of course Oz is on **his** side in all of this._ "Only if General Ironwood stays at the door. You know I don't like him."

Oz took a deep breath, shoving all his frustrations into the depths of his stomach. He didn't have the patience for this crap. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Oscar had yet to move from his corner of the bed.

"Well?"

"Go tell the general the agreement first. If he reacts poorly, I want mobility."

Oz shook his head, weary that it may be a trap, but too tired to really care. It's not like the child was in any state to put up a fight in his current condition, and he hadn't stolen his cane earlier.

Oscar watched Oz walk away and lined himself up as he waited. He had confidence the general would oblige to be door guard, and strapped his legs and one arm in at a comfortable level of tight as a sign of good faith.

Oz was pleased to see it when he came back, and he strapped his remaining arm

Oz pulled his chair as close to Oscar as possible and a new doctor came in shortly. 

Oscar just zoned out, closing his eyes and letting the doctor take care of it. Oz would protect him. _He better protect me._

Oscar's head buzzed mercilessly and Oscar prayed it would fade away soon.

* * *

Oz watched the doctor work quietly, and he could soon hear Oscar's soft breathing as he fell asleep. _He must be exhausted._ He stifled a yawn as to not frighten the doctor into feeling unsafe due to his protector's lack of alertness.

The doctor left eventually, and Oz spoke to James at the door before he went back and unstrapped Oscar. _Too many trust issues for one afternoon._

He went through more emails and messaged Glynda about some more details of the festival. It was almost an hour before General Ironwood entered the room, phone in hand.

_Well, he's not strapped down anymore. I'm not violating our agreement, am I? He is able to move while James is present._

Regardless, he ushered James outside so they were standing in the doorframe, Oz inside, James outside, peering in like a hawk.

"Yes?"

"We found him. Dorothy Pine just reported her nephew, Oscar Pine, missing. He vanished in the night in Mistral time, and the window when she last saw him lines up with the window he appeared here."

"So we're looking at a teleportation semblance?"

"That's just it Oz, look at this picture. This is what she gave the police, and apparently, it's recent. My team is on the phone with her now. Oscar Pine doesn't own any green coat, let alone combat gear, and she was confused when we showed her the picture we have. She says they look alike, but our Oscar is older and taller. Apparently, the real Oscar is a fourteen-year-old farmhand."

"What are you implying?"

"I think one of Salem's men killed Oscar Pine and is assuming his identity. How else would they know all of this? It's some kind of illusion semblance, I think."

"He is holding up the illusion with a broken aura in his sleep?"

James sighed. "It's not 100% clear, but I think we're onto something."

"The teleportation theory is far more probable."

"But Oscar's Aunt says that the video we have isn't of the real Oscar! She's sure of it."

"Because the video makes him seem a little older and taller? For all we know, she just still sees her nephew as a little baby as many parental figures do."

"But he doesn't have an activated aura."

"Not that she knew. Teenagers hide things all the time from their legal guardians."

"The combat gear?"

"Perhaps he was sneaking off into the night, secretly training to be a huntsman. He could have found a traveler to get him started and perhaps he snuck off to train and his semblance activated."

"Then why does he know about _her_?"

"That... that remains to be seen. How long is the window of time between last seen there and last seen here?"

"About 3 hours. She saw him before he went to bed, and 3 hours since that time he appeared here."

"Three hours is a long time. A lot can occur in three hours. Perhaps he was attacked after sneaking off to secretly train somewhere. It would explain his current health. The injuries might be why he seems older. An attack would justify the sudden discovery of a semblance. Distress is known for activating many. Besides, for all we know, the aunt could be lying. We don't know much of anything at the moment."

The general sighed.

Oz continued, "perhaps when Oscar wakes up we can put the two on a video call. Their reaction to each other will say quite a lot about their relationship. For now, I do believe he is still sleeping. Until then, maybe let's find out if his aunt knows anything about Salem."

The general scowled. "Call me when he wakes up. I want to speak to him."

"Very well."

The general left, a coldness to his even steps.

Oz went back into the room and sat down. His head would not stop buzzing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am also surprised at how frequently I am updating this. I am unsure how long this will last before going silent for a while. 
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and support so far! I'm glad people are interested in this.


	5. The Video Call Saga: The Setup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oz breaks the news that his Aunt has made contact with the police about her nephew's disappearance to Oscar.  
> Everyone else ~ s l o w l y ~ makes their way to the room.  
> The call is connected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More emotions than plot in this one. The next one should be a lot more action-y since this is just the setup. Get hypeeeee!
> 
> (Honestly, I just stalled the plot so that Qrow can join the party. And Glynda content!)

It was an amazing nap. Oscar woke up and the room was beautifully quiet. Oscar got up and stretched, reaching for his toes.

Oz mumbled and stirred awake and the beehive in Oscar's brain hit him like a brick.

Oscar felt his head vibrate and the world washed white for a moment as an intense headache washed over him in droves. As Oz shifted his weight, the pain just spiked through Oscar's system. He lay back down and hoped it would fade.

Just like the previous times, it faded until it was manageable. He could feel Oz observe him as he curled up into a ball, letting the dull ache pulse through his body in time to his heartbeat.

"Back to sleep so soon?" 

He would have responded playfully if he didn't feel like his head was splitting open. "Mmh," was all he got out.

"I have some good news for you if you're up for it."

"Is there any such thing as good news anymore and not just 'tolerable' news?" Oscar mumbled, his face half-buried in his pillow.

Oz exhaled a puff of air in a light-hearted scoff. 

"Life's that bad, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it. What disaster is it now?"

"Well, you'll be **excited** to hear that we just made contact with your Aunt." Oz smiled, ready for Oscar to get excited.

Oscar screamed, sitting upright. Not excited.

Oz jolted back, nearly falling from his chair. He hadn't expected that response.

Oscar reached out his bandaged arm and shoved Oz's shoulder, and not very playfully. Oz felt it, but it wasn't anything more than one would receive while sparring.

Oscar's head felt like it was about to explode. It felt like he was sinking into the depths of the ocean and the pressure consumed him.

"Excited? Why would I be excited about that? Why on Remnant would you drag her into this? They'll kill her!"

Oz raised his hands defensively. "She contacted the town sheriff that you were missing and it came up on our radar. We wouldn't have found her if she hadn't. She clearly wants to find you, Oscar. She's worried."

Oscar could feel his heartbeat thrum rhythmically through his brain, the throb of the morning's headache pulsing through his shaking body. His arms felt cold as shivers passed over the various bruises.

Oscar zoned out, feeling himself go numb.

_They're going to kill her._

_Everyone's going to die while I'm too busy being here doing whatever this is._

_This is all my fault._

* * *

Oz sighed pulled out his scroll and messaged James. "He's awake and I told him the news about his aunt. He's not taking it too well."

He watched Oscar shake in his upright position, mumbling in his manic. A few tears strayed down his face in his trembling. 

_Perhaps he ran away from his Aunt, and Salem took advantage of his distress?_

Against his better judgment, Oz scooted closer to the boy that had lashed out and pushed him, and he ran his fingers through Oscar's oily mess of hair. Oscar's mumbling softened as he leaned into the touch. 

_This kid needs a shower. Perhaps letting him clean up before making a distressful phone call would be prudent?_

He figured he'd have to have permission from the doctors before asking Oscar if he wanted to shower, so he leaned over and buzzed in.

Oscar groaned when Oz moved away from him.

The registered nurse was doubtful that he should be allowed to shower, as Oscar had been showing red flags in the mental health department. Leaving him unattended where he might injure himself was not a good idea. He was mentally unstable. She did offer to bring up some dry shampoo. Oz said no. If he presented Oscar with the idea of dry shampoo, then there was no way Oscar would let him keep messing with his hair.

Oscar didn't need to feel judged right now, especially when playing with his hair was the one failsafe he had to calm the kid down.

His scroll buzzed, and Oz glanced at it. A message from General Ironwood hovered on his screen. It read, "I'll bring up my team with a laptop running the video call in twenty. Prep the kid. We'll be recording the call and running analysis. I'll get Ms. Dorothy Pine on standby now."

Oz rolled his eyes. The man was so melodramatic sometimes.

"Oscar," he spoke softly, trying not to further upset the boy. "General Ironwood and his friends are going to be here soon. Your aunt wants to see you so they arranged a video call. Is that going to be okay?"

He mumbled something in response. _I probably need to actually hear his response to that._

Oz passed him the water glass on the side table and Oscar drank it happily. 

"Better?"

Oscar nodded. Oz took the cup from him in case he got startled and dropped it. At the rate he was shaking, he might as well invest in a sippy cup.

"Oscar, I would like to know what you think of calling your aunt on a video call. You mumbled something before, and I'm hoping you can say it again a bit louder."

"What, hearing going bad, old man?" The young teenager smirked sarcastically. 

Oz nodded, his lips flat, not nearly as amused. "Please?" He added, trying not to appear too annoyed. _This kid is exhausting._

Oscar thought about it. "I would like to see her again, especially since she's already dragged into this. I'm just..." Oscar sighed. "Scared. I really wish I wasn't so scared all the time."

"What are you scared of?"

"I haven't seen her in months, Oz! What if she's mad at me for leaving? What if..." Oscar drifted off, many emotions flashing across his features, most of them unpleasant. He choked on his breath, trying to keep himself from falling apart completely.

Oz raised an eyebrow. "It's been just over a day, Oscar."

Oscar just shook his head, unable to speak. _H_ _e disagrees with the facts. H o w ._

Oz still had yet to figure out how to handle that.

_I'm not sure what he thinks happened, but I don't think it's what actually did. Why does he think that basic facts are absolute blasphemy?_

"I'm sure she will be happy to see you and know that you're safe."

"I just... I guess I don't know if I made the right choice."

_What choice? Did he make a deal with Salem?_

Oz waited patiently, hoping he would feel the pressure in the silence and elaborate. He didn't. Oscar just bit his chapped bottom lip.

"Can Qrow be here? I don't know if he is in Vale right now, but if he is, I'd like him to be here when the general shows up."

Oz raised an eyebrow. _How does he know Qrow? Well, he does seem to know everyone else. I'm sure Qrow is curious to meet him anyway._

Oz checked the time. There was a slight chance Qrow would be awake and sober enough not to scare the kid too much. It was almost nightfall, so unless he was eating he should be available.

He sent Qrow a message. "James is doing the video call soon and Oscar would like you to be here. If you're up for it, I think both of us could use the emotional support. Let me know."

The response was almost immediate. "OMW now."

Oz looked to Oscar, who leaned towards him immediately for a head massage. Oz just smiled, running his hands in the boy's hair. Oscar nuzzled into his touch, practically meowing like a kitten. 

_This would be cute if he wasn't absolutely insane._

"Qrow said he would come. I'm not sure how close he is but he will be here eventually."

Oscar perked up, smiling softly. "He's really coming?"

"Yes."

Oscar squirmed as he thought about something, and Oz could see him biting his lip and looking to the corner of the room.

"Can he be here before the general?"

"I can ask the general to wait until Qrow arrives, yes."

He sent the general a message. James wouldn't be pleased, sure, but he wouldn't complain. _He'll save it all and then hit me with thousands of petty things at once. It's fine, at the end of the day we will always be on the same side._

* * *

Glynda was outside the building, pacing. Qrow approached her, emerging from behind a cluster of trees.

"Hey," His voice was just a hair slurred, but not enough to raise any more questions than normal. "Do you know anything about this 'video call?' Apparently, the little squirt wants me there for it."

"They found his Aunt and they're hoping the true nature of their relationship will become apparent by having them video call." Her voice was stern. She never enjoyed working with the drunk.

"Huh. You here for that call too?"

She gave him a look that was a mix of pity and loathing. "Just getting out of my office for some fresh air. I figured Oz would send for me when this inevitably goes wrong anyway, so I might as well be nearby."

Qrow scoffed, letting out a drunken snicker. "Why don't you just come with? I'm just dying to see what kind of crazy this kid is." Qrow took a long 'sip' from his flask, barely closing it before putting it away.

"Normally, I wouldn't go in without being called for, but if you're going to be drunk, they're going to need all hands on deck."

Qrow shrugged and motioned for her to follow him into the building. The duo got into the elevator, riding up to the seventh floor. 

"Why did the kid ask for you?"

"Dunno. I only walked by him when he was asleep. I think I'm more here for Oz."

"And you're okay with getting involved with an insane child with unknown powerful abilities given your semblance and current lack of sobriety?"

Qrow grunted and shrugged. Glynda sighed, leading Qrow to the correct room.

_This is an Oz problem._

They arrived at the correct room.

Oz smiled when he saw Glynda at the door, and she entered. "Good evening Glynda. You here to check on us?"

Glynda smiled at Oz, who had Oscar practically in his lap as he combed through his thick matte of hair as one would pet a puppy. The kid looked much better, physically at least. He looked less pale and there was a hint of calm on his face.

"You know I'm always here to support, Oz, but I come bearing a gift. I'm here with this idiot." She entered the room, letting Qrow get into the sightline.

"Qrow!" Oscar cheered, jumping out of the medical bed and running straight for him. 

Oz was far too slow to react, letting the kid completely out of his grasp. Panic rushed him. _This kid is wild._

Qrow, wonderfully drunk, scooped the kid up and into his arms and pulled him into a hug.

Oscar was thrilled by the development.

Seeing as Qrow was handling it, Oz sent for the general.

_This ought to be fun. I think I'm going to let these boys handle each other._

Qrow carried the kid back to the medical bed, sitting down and placing the kid into his lap. Oscar curled right up to him, snuggling right into the older man's chest. Qrow tussled the kid's hair, too drunk to process how bizarre it was that a kid he's never met just decided to cuddle him. 

_Great, our resident drunk is now in charge of keeping the mentally unstable child with freakish abilities happy. Wonderful._

Oscar eventually sat, facing forward. Qrow had his arms wrapped around the boy, resting his chin on his head. He looked like a small child holding an oversized teddy bear they had won from the fairgrounds. Oscar's leg was bouncing, and his eyes sparkled ever so slightly. 

_He seems so happy. Well, so does Qrow but he's definitely had a few too many tonight. Still, I've only ever seen him hold his nieces like that, and even then, it's been a while._

_I bet Qrow is just happy to hold a child again._

_Oscar seems positively delighted too._

_I guess some things just work themselves out._

She smiled softly as the boys seemed to mellow out and get comfortable. She made no move to join them.

Glynda guarded the door and scowled as the general and his crew approached the room. _There are far too many annoying men in my life._

"General," she greeted.

"Is Oscar ready?"

She glanced back into the room, where Oscar was smiling and holding Qrow's arms against his chest. He appeared to be babbling about something unimportant.

"He seems comfortable enough to make a distressful phone call."

"Comfortable? I gave Oz twenty minutes, longer to wait for Qrow. How is he not strapped down and ready to go by now?"

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "I think Qrow's got it covered. I'll stand as door guard, and if he panics and tries to run again I'll lift him up with my semblance. I was the one who found him, General, I know what he's capable of."

The general sighed. "I was hoping to bring my crew inside."

"The room is much larger than a normal hospital room, they can stand in the back."

"I want to ensure their safety, Glynda."

"Given we don't know his semblance, strapping him down may not actually be enough. If he starts attacking, Qrow should be able to pin him pretty easily. Oscar is about the size of one of Qrow's usual Signal Academy students. Qrow and Ozpin should have a much better time getting him down than we did yesterday."

"Still, I'm not sending my team in. I have an agreement with them." The general took the laptop from one of the workers, signaling them to join the others in the observation deck.

_I wonder how many people are in a room somewhere getting paid to observe the interaction between a child and his supposed Aunt. What a day._

* * *

Dorothy Pine waited patiently at one of the town library's terminals, the Sherriff had long gone to deal with something else.

Farm work wasn't important, right now she wanted nothing more than to see her beloved nephew alive and safe.

She noticed Oscar missing in the morning, and it had taken her over half a day to travel to the Sherriff, file the report. She had almost begun the trip back to the farm when Atlas called in. 

She had been on the line with Atlas officials, who had somehow found Oscar, for about six hours now. They were hoping she knew how he turned up so far from the farm and was in Vale, but she didn't know. 

She wished they would at least tell her why there was a delay in speaking to him now. She had been waiting in the queue staring at a blank screen, waiting for the Atlas team that had somehow found her son to finally put her through to him. They could probably see her, even if she couldn't see them. 

She had been gone all day. She had spent hours telling them about Oscar and then a few more waiting for him to wake up so they could talk. At least they had connected her to a worker so she wasn't just sitting there silently waiting for something to happen. But they had told her to wait twenty minutes as they set up the feed on his end.

It had been longer than twenty minutes. 

It had almost been more than a full day since she woke up and couldn't find him. It was the middle of the night now, almost the time she normally woke up. The librarian had been kind enough to stay with her so she could make the call. 

_I'll have to thank Claire later. Maybe I'll make an apple pie for her._

She almost grabbed a book when the screen changed from the Atlas logo to a loading symbol.

She held her breath as she waited for it to load in.

It was finally time. Claire smiled at her.

_It's going to be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! :)
> 
> The plot is literally crawling. I'm cool with it though, I like the character interactions.  
> This story has shorter chapters, meaning it's easier for me to edit and post more frequently. It also means that the action is a bit slower. I'm liking the slow burn though, not gonna lie.
> 
> Thanks for all the support so far! I went back and did a bit of proofreading and cleaned up the previous chapters a bit (I tend to write at night and my brain is more creative than logical at that point.) I'm sure there's still more mistakes that I missed.  
> I am just happy to have the time to be writing right now. <3  
> I've been enjoying all the comments. I love to hear from anyone interested in sharing!  
> Thank you guys so much for supporting this story!


	6. The Video Call Saga: The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar gets to video call his Aunt. The poor woman.
> 
> Oscar is losing his mind, Oz can somehow feel this, Ironwood thinks he figured it all out, and Qrow is absolutely 100% without-a-doubt not drunk enough for this.

The general glared at the arrangement before him. Qrow, clearly dazed, was holding the suspect like they were family. It made him feel sick. This wasn't the right time or place to be friendly. 

Beacon had been attacked during the school dance not too long ago and now a child, clearly insane, had wandered into the facility and was receiving the same treatment as a welcomed guest. Ironwood bit back his tongue, not wanting to cause a scene.

Oscar's true nature would come to light soon enough, and he was mature enough to know better than to scream 'I told you so' at the other adults present. It didn't, however, refrain him from thinking it. 

The fact that the 'child' had picked out a weakness in the team, Qrow, the alcoholic no one asked for, and managed to get the drunkard to be the one containing him proved the kid was thinking long term. This little brat was clearly scheming up a nightmare. No amount of 'cute' could hide that.

The general set down the laptop on a table, rolling it in front of the medical bed. He stood behind the tiny table, hovering over it like he ruled the room. Oscar looked up at him, beady eyes shifting colors. He curled further into Qrow.

_Good. Fear me. You can't hide from me. I see right through your little act._

Qrow just held the kid a bit tighter, giving him a pointed look. Ironwood glared back at him. Qrow just rolled his eyes, looking away. He proceeded to connect the TV to the computer wirelessly, so Ironwood could observe Oscar and his alleged Aunt at the same time. 

Ironwood stood with great authority, confidently pressing the button to start the meeting. His hand hovered over his gun, ready to annihilate the kid the moment he panicked. They were about to catch him in his murderous lie. 

_Salem's got nothing on me, pipsqueak._

He watched Oscar slowly panic as the screen loaded.

_Awww, did the baby's bluff just get called?_

Ironwood saw the woman he had recently become acquainted with flash onto the call screen. 

Oscar stared at the screen, in shock. No one spoke and the room sat completely still. Oz stole a passing glance over to the medical bed.

Qrow felt a knot form in his stomach, regretting not asking more questions before agreeing to this. Ironwood almost scoffed as he observed Qrow's sudden crisis. He withheld such behavior, continuing to watch Oscar intently. _It's not my fault you fell for his trap, Qrow._

Oscar started bawling. 

_Still going with the cute and innocent card? You're fooling no one._

"Auntie!" The boy reached out towards the screen, and Qrow ( _thankfully_ ) yanked him away. The child sunk in on himself, curling up into a ball. 

Dorothy Pine spoke. "Oscar? Is it really you?" She somehow seemed more surprised than anyone else.

_Wait, did she just positively ID him? No. She's just in shock._

_She has to be._

* * *

The world spun around Oscar as memories pulsed through him. He hadn't felt like this since Oz first crash-landed in his head. It was like every memory and every monumental thing that has ever happened to him rushed into the front of his brain all at once. 

Everything suddenly reeked of blood as screams filled the room, echoing around with newfound intensity with every heartbeat. 

He could feel something around him, it burned to touch. It was too warm, too constricting, and Oscar tried to break loose but the hold just got tighter.

**_B R E A T H E ._ **

The word echoed through Oscar's brain like it owned the place. His body betrayed him as it obeyed, gulping down air as he drowned in it. 

He opened his mouth to scream but gasped as air sucked into his body. He couldn't get himself to stop breathing. It was beginning to hurt.

Oscar shook his head no. He wanted to tell the voice that he didn't want to breathe and it hurt to keep trying.

There was a tapping sound, like a pen clicking open and shut. It was infuriating.

His breathing fell into synch with it. In and out. In and out. In and out.

_**Oscar.** _

_Oz... He's speaking to me... He's back..._

**_Oscar, can you hear me? We turned off the video. It's okay_ _now._**

_He's not in my head. He's in the room._

_And he's taking Auntie away._

He cried out in panic, breathing aggressively.

* * *

To say Oz was concerned would be an understatement. Qrow had Oscar buried against his chest, sobbing and wailing. He kept screaming the word "no" and it was loud. It was making his voice shot. _He needs to drink some more water._

He could almost feel the emotions radiating off of him as if Oscar's thoughts and feelings were tangible things that he could reach out and touch. His emotions vibrated through Oz's soul as if they were his own.

Only his fellow reincarnated souls had ever made him feel this way, and it was usually when they were reflecting upon a memory together.

Oscar had listened to him when he tried to calm him down. As much as he was screeching, he wasn't sitting there with his mouth agape, questioning why no air was traversing through it. The two were on the same page.

So the headmaster hadn't expected Oscar to be against the idea of closing the video call. 

Qrow, miraculously, was succeeding at getting Oscar to stop shrieking. Murmuring softly and rubbing his back, the two were adorable, albeit sad. Oz watched in wonder as Qrow handled the child like he was his parent.

_I do hope the next reincarnation finds their own Qrow to keep their world from falling apart._

Oz watched with fascination as Oscar snuggled into Qrow's chest. The screaming slowed to a stop.

"I love you," Oscar spoke softly, and with purpose. 

* * *

Qrow did not drink enough to be prepared for this. 

_Did he just say "I love you?" I don't think I've heard that phrase since forever. Da frickity frackity is this?_

Qrow just proceeded to tussle Oscar's hair as he stared at Oz, hoping for answers. Oz looked as shook as he felt. _Great._

"I'm sorry, I should have never left," Oscar continued rambling, spiraling. 

Qrow looked to anyone for guidance because what-the-heck-was-he-supposed-to-do-with-this but no one else seemed to know anything.

_Okay, guess I'm carrying the team now._

"Hey kiddo, what the heck are you going on about?" Qrow hoped he came off more concerned and caring than confused and annoyed, but he was honestly not sober enough to truly tell.

Oscar shut up, catching his breath. He was shaking. Qrow was disturbed by the cold sweat that was slowly being absorbed into his jacket. _Ew._

"Please don't take her away, I I I I need to explain, I"-

"Gotcha. Maybe let's get you collected before we get her back in here?"

Oscar nodded, already exhausted. 

"Alrighty then." Qrow patted the kid's shoulder. Oscar nuzzled further into his chest. Qrow looked to the people who knew what was going on and hoped someone would say something.

Of course, Ironwood didn't pick up the hint, but Oz certainly did. Qrow was thankful to have someone around that made sense. As much sense as anything ever did, anyway.

"Oscar, before we let you speak freely, there are some things we intend to do first. We need to verify both of your identities. From there, we will decide what to do next. Perhaps an adult steering the conversation will make this experience more pleasant?"

Oscar whined, but that wasn't a 'no.' Qrow nodded.

_Just rip off the band-aid and get her back on the call._

Miraculously, Ironwood got the hint and reconnected their video and audio to the call.

* * *

Oz looked at the poor woman, crying and shaking miserably on the other end of the call. 

_Seeing his reaction to the video call probably didn't pair well with the sudden cut-off. This is going to be a rather emotionally complex situation._

"Ma'am?" Oz stated gently.

"Is he alright?" Her voice quivered. _She's scared. She probably thinks we did something to him._

"I believe he will feel better once we have this sorted out. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. What do I need to do to get my baby back?"

Oz had no intention of telling her that she very likely would not be allowed to have him back, at least not for a long time. The kid knew far too much.

"Ms. Pine, I am hoping you can confirm each other's identities. He told us his name, but the description you provided doesn't fully match. There may very well simply be more than one Oscar Pine in the world."

She nodded, wearily, pondering how to go about it.

Oscar spoke first. "You always made apple pie whenever someone did something kind. Like when the tractor broke and we used the Beaumont's one next door, you gave them a pie. There's a stash of pie tins in the top right cabinet that I was never tall enough to reach. I miss your apple pies, they were always the best."

Oz was a bit disturbed by the past tense. It was like Oscar was dead and possessing the body in front of them. _That's not actually too bad of a theory. A bit too improbable though._

"That's right," she sniffled, visibly calmer. "Although, you've always preferred the peach pies. Apple pies are for giving, peach pies are for a good book." She laughed softly to herself. 

Oscar smiled softly. "And if you're going to read a fairy tale before bed, it better be with chocolate pudding."

"You ain't eating pudding that close to bedtime!"

"Awwww, you really gonna deny a kid pudding? In front of the authorities? You might want to agree to the pudding deal before they think you're lying about knowing me."

"Oh, cut it out mister! Giving you sugar right before bed is all it takes to keep you up all night reading."

"Yeah, yeah, and if I'm too sleepy the next day who's going to feed the cows. You've made your case clear. I just think the call of the pudding is just louder, ya know?"

The two laughed softly, both mildly amused.

This seemed reason enough for Oz to believe that the child was indeed the Oscar Pine who was the nephew of this Dorothy Pine. Either they were both telling the truth, or they were both lying. Atlas screened her, so there was good reason to believe that they were both telling the truth. _Simple enough. Now to the harder part._

"Well," Oz spoke, matching the lighter air of the room. "Since that is out of the way, let's keep moving this discussion along, shall we? Oscar, is there something you wanted to say to your aunt?"

"Right." There was determination in his eyes. "I wanted to explain why I left."

Oz raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. _Coming here was a conscious decision?_

Oscar took a deep breath before he continued. "Something magical happened. I don't want you to know exactly what- they'll kill you for it- but I do believe you deserve to know why I left." He stared into the camera, squeezing Qrow's arm when he saw the look of horror on his aunt's face.

"Oscar, what happened? You know you can tell me anything, right?" She was desperate but kept her voice relatively steady.

"I know, Aunt Dorothy. I just know things that are dangerous and I have to keep you safe and out of it. I'm a part of a master plan, something that will someday save humanity. I may be a pawn in that plan but I would be a fool to believe that pawns are not important. Every little piece has to fall into place. The world will fall apart soon, and I only have one shot to save it."

"Oscar, please. I know you're destined for something great, but this? Don't you think running off on some sort of whim of destiny isn't the right response? Please, honey, let's talk about this. Can you just tell me what's going on?"

"I'm afraid that's not a good idea. Trust me, I didn't want to leave you, but I had to. I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice!"

"Then consider mine made."

"Please, let's talk about this. You're not thinking straight right now, and I think talking it out with an adult would help."

Oscar sighed. "I've missed you, Auntie." He wiped away at the tears on his face. "But no amount of homesickness is going to stop me now."

Dorothy raised an eyebrow at that. "Honey, it's been a long day, but you'll be home again soon, okay?"

Oscar shook his head. "No matter how much I love you, I would never risk seeing you again. And I really, **really** , love you."

Dorothy let out a cry. 

"I wish it didn't have to be this way too," Oscar whispered to himself, the bitterness in his voice elevating the volume.

"Oscar, you're the one making it this way! No one is trying to keep you away from me! Please, just come home!"

Oscar looked to Oz for backup on this.

Oz wasn't sure what Oscar was expecting him to do, as he was just spewing vague gibberish. "If it brings either of you any comfort," Oz looked between the two, "we have state-of-the-art mental asylums here. Oscar will be in good hands."

Dorothy Pine began to mourn the loss of her son, for it had become clear that he was never coming back.

Oscar took a moment longer to process what Oz had so plainly put out into the world. "WHAT?" He shouted, voice already horse. 

Qrow pinned the boy in his arms, feeling the buildup as Oscar's aura flared into reaction.

It was then that objects in the room began to float. Every electronic device began to spark, and a loud sizzle was heard before the room was encased in darkness. A glowing green orb was the only thing visible. That orb was surrounding Oscar, like a bubble shield.

 _Magic._ Oz recognized the pulsing of the energy in the room. _And it looks just like mine._

Oz activated his own magic, struggling to push back against Oscar's uncontrolled power. It rolled off of him in destructive waves, lighting up the room. It was a power struggle, Oz giving his strength to containing the raw outburst.

Oscar, emotionally exhausted, collapsed against Qrow, unconscious. 

Oz felt his body shake, being on the verge of collapsing himself. 

_That kid has raw untrained magic._

_Did Salem decide that my four maidens needed a matching set of four gentlemen? But why would she give away her magic?_

_How in Remnant did a new magic-user just appear?_

Wordlessly, Oz fell asleep.

* * *

Ironwood immediately got to work into getting security back up. Backup power seemed to restore most things (Once the freak child had passed out anyway) but there was clearly much to do.

It felt too pre-mature for an 'I-told-you-so,' but he could feel it bubbling up in his system. 

Of course the child would have the powers of the witch. Of course Salem found the kid.

_A pawn in a master plan to save humanity? Is he quoting her? Why is everyone so surprised that he's not normal?_

Ironwood just shook his head as he made his moves to get the building up and running again.

* * *

_I am too drunk for this._

Qrow felt like he was on fire. It was a similar feeling to when he first started to transform into a magical crow. He could feel the energy, trapped in his aura, churning his stomach. _How unfortunate._

He still found himself rubbing circles in Oscar's back, like soothing him would fix this. 

"Ya know, if someone told me he had the ability to copy other people's abilities, I wouldn't have shown up. Ya know, I bring bad luck? Didn't need to double that one." Qrow sighed. _Why does no one tell me the important things?_

Ironwood seemed intrigued. 

Qrow glared at the silent general. "What? What did you think happened?"

"Well," he responded, sounding as tactful as ever, "I assumed that he had magic. But, what you said makes quite a bit of sense. It does seem to fit what we saw. Glynda with telekinesis, Oz's green magic, and your bad luck. An ability to replicate another's ability... it's as much as a stretch as any other explanation, like magic. There's no reasonable way to explain what just happened without getting into a bizarre sense of nitty-gritty." Ironwood rubbed his head, a headache clearly forming. 

"So having him sit with me was the worst thing we could have done. Huh. How unfortunate."

"I'm not in the mood to deal with your self-deprecating humor. Focus please?"

"Right. I don't think restraining the kid is going to work, but we need to keep the kid down while we wait for Oz to wake up. He may have better insight as to what just happened."

"Right. And until we know if he can store abilities he's copied before, he needs to stick with Ozpin. No one can contain him now if he can retain these abilities."

"Perhaps that was the plan." Qrow sighed, still running his fingers through Oscar's greasy hair.

"It does all fit. Get him access to a teleportation semblance, get him to ramble about things that are top secret and it was almost a guarantee he would be able to learn the abilities of Ozpin, and his trusted team. We fell right for it."

"Unless he can't retain the abilities and the teleportation here was an accident, and he was unable to teleport back. Maybe trying to copy Oz's magic made him go crazy. Or perhaps the shock of appearing in the vault did. Perhaps having access to Oz's abilities gave him glimpses into his memories?"

"We don't know anything," Ironwood growled. "But I wouldn't be surprised if this situation escalates. We need to get him away from as many people as possible, all while keeping him near Oz."

Qrow thought about it. "I have a really stupid idea. You in?"

"Just start talking."

* * *

Dorothy Pine stared at the screen, dejected.

**DISCONNECTED.**

**DISCONNECTED.**

**DISCONNECTED.**

**DISCONNECTED.**

**DISCONNECTED.**

The word cycled across the screen. She heaved into her hands.

The sun came up before she finally left the library, headed home to the farm. The cows weren't going to feed themselves.

The journey home was slow and somber. She was no longer looking for her missing boy. Her boy was gone forever.

Atlas people were bound to arrive at the farm address she had provided with more information. She would press them as to what had happened then.

All she could do was wait.

 _Wait and cry_ , she decided.

_Wait and cry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun. I'm really excited about this story.
> 
> I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments!


	7. The Video Call Saga: The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar wakes up in his new location. Undoubtedly, things get chaotic.

Oscar woke up in a strange room. He was on a new bed.

_Oh no._

_I'm in the loony bin._

_I have to get out of here._

He grunted as he sat up slowly. His head still pounded and some part of him wanted to fall back down and curl back up.

_I've been getting this headache every time I wake up, and now I'm in a new room._

_What if Salem really did nab me? She could be trying to confuse me by constantly changing my environment._

_And if she is drugging me, that could explain the throbbing in my head. It somehow only fades when Oz is here._

_What if she **is** pretending to be Oz? This could be her method of making me subconsciously want to be near her, just to make the headache go away. _

_This is so twisted and manipulative, and I hate that the cruelty makes it all the more likely to be true._

To distract from the fear that was making his pulse increase (therefore worsening the headache), Oscar observed his new surroundings.

There were no medical supplies anymore, and it looked far more like a normal bedroom. The walls were sky blue, cleanly painted. A tall black floor lamp sat behind the dresser, with a pale green lampshade perched on top of it. The light was on, and it gave a soft glow over the white dresser. On the ground leading up to the dresser was a dark green rug.

Over the dresser was a golden picture frame containing the quote by Monty Oum, “The goal isn't to live on forever; it's to make something that does.”

Oscar snickered to himself. _If only this Monty Oum guy knew that there is an immortal witch trying to destroy the world that also happened to be waging a war against a reincarnating wizard. Then, he might just change his mind._

_Or maybe he is right because living forever sucks. Maybe Salem found this guy and found it ironic. Or relatable. I really can't tell with these undying people._

_Still, it just feels like a very Salem quote. Perhaps it's just confirmation bias._

Taking a deep breath, Oscar steadied himself with the bedside table and stood up. His legs wobbled beneath him. _How long has it been since I've stood up? Jeez._ _I must be on the good stuff._

Gaining back his footing, he slowly approached the door. _Please let this be a nice happy door that takes me back to Atlas. I just want to wake up somewhere over the rainbow, wherever this nightmare isn't._

The hallway attached was dark, and Oscar felt his way around as he walked. _Where am I? I don't think I'm outside._

Oscar's foot touched something and he jumped backward, crashing into something behind him. He hit his head on something solid and felt himself sink to the ground.

The pulse in his head returned full throttle and it was accompanied by a high pitch ringing in his ears and a fuzzy buzzing filling the top of his head. _At this rate, my brain will become scrambled like an egg._

* * *

Ozpin's skin crawled at the sound of a loud thud resonating throughout his room. _Dear brothers, the child is mobile!_

He lept out of bed, dashing towards the main room, turning on the lights as he went. He reached the dining room, flicking the lights on.

He was treated by a hum and a grunt. Oscar was on the floor, barely down the hall from the room Qrow had placed him in. He was curled into a ball on the floor holding his head, whining. 

Oz would have been concerned with that if the ridiculously expensive china in the cabinet behind Oscar wasn't **floating**. Each delicate dish was wrapped in a green glow and was hovering in the wooden display case, occasionally clinking with the glass containing them as they vibrated ever so slightly. 

Oz was really not a fan of all of this nonsense. He reached out his hand, his own magic easily covering Oscar's and releasing the dishes gently from their floating state and back to the shelves. 

_The easy crisis averted. Now the hard part._

Oz lowered his hand, exhaling as he let the magic flow from him freely. He felt something tingle his pinky finger and he inhaled sharply.

There was a large crash as a single plate smashed against the shelf below it.

Oscar screeched, and every single piece of china burst into shards. It was like a bomb going off. It was only Oz's instinct that allowed him to dart towards the cabinet as it tipped over, aiming to crush Oscar's shaking form. 

"Move!" Ozpin shouted, feeling his feet slowly drift backward, the weight of the ancient wooden marvel slowly crashing in on him. 

Oscar scrambled to the next wall over, throwing himself against it with a soft thud. His back was pinned to the wall, and he was breathing rapidly. 

Seeing as the cabinet was already quite damaged, Oz let it go, sliding out from under it. He had let go of enough things in his many lifetimes, so what were a few more dishes and a matching cabinet?

The cabinet hit the floor with a bang like a gunshot. Oscar screamed in fright, pulling his knees up to his chest. 

Oz slowed his own breathing down, trying to focus as a migraine emerged, clinging to the back of his head and sending jolts of pain down his spine. The noise had set off a familiar ring in his ears, but this wasn't a battleground under heavy fire, this was his home, and he had a petrified child to attend to. 

Stepping over the fallen cabinet, Oz slid down the wall next to Oscar.

"Just me," Oz added. The kid wasn't looking around as his head was trapped between his knees. "Did you sleep well?"

Oscar made no move to answer. Oz placed his hand on Oscar's back and was quick to remove it. Oscar seemed only less content with the contact.

"After the call, my friends Qrow and General Ironwood had the idea to bring you to my house. I agreed when I woke up. It makes sense. At least no one will strap you down here. It's just the two of us."

Oscar silently contemplated the situation.

Oz decided he would continue to fill the silence. "It may be the middle of the night, but would you like something to eat?"

Oscar shook his head for 'no' into his curled up form.

"Maybe a drink? Some water, perhaps?"

Oscar responded no again.

Oz held in a sigh, knowing this wasn't the time to let himself get frustrated. "Would you like to take a hot shower? Sometimes that helps. Qrow got some of the Beacon students to donate clean pajamas and day clothes, so you should have something fresh to change into."

Oscar wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea but decided that there wasn't much risk to it. If this man meant him harm, he would achieve it no matter what Oscar did. At least this way he could free himself of the cold sweat that clung to his form. 

Oz was surprised Oscar agreed but made no move to protest. "Alright, why don't we get you something to change into and a towel."

Oz stood up and waited patiently as Oscar slowly unfurled himself, noting that Oscar clung to his chest as he stood up. _Had there been an injury there? There were quite many when we met._

"Are you okay to stand up for long? I can run a bath instead."

Oscar shook his head. 

Oz smiled softly, guiding him back to the room Qrow had designated for the boy. "Qrow kinda put clothes places in the dresser. I'm not sure what he scavenged for you, but I'm sure something will fit. Let me get a towel and make sure the guest bathroom has the necessary shower soaps."

Oz, gave one final glance to the boy, before walking down the hall to one of the closets, careful to listen for sounds of distress.

* * *

Oscar flipped through the clothing items, chaotically tossed into the drawers. No folding or categorizing, just pure disorder. Oscar was somewhat bothered by the carelessness but it was Qrow and he hadn't expected anything more from the man.

He stopped when he recognized a set of pajamas. _Doesn't Ruby have this exact pair of pants?_

Deciding he liked the thought of matching Ruby, even in spirit, he picked the outfit. Checking the tag, it appeared his size. He held it up to his chest to double-check and it looked like it would fit enough. The pants were draw-string, so at least they were adjustable if they didn't fit quite right.

He found a top that would cover up to his neck's bandages so he wouldn't feel too exposed. The outfit was uncoordinated, but it would do.

Pile of clothes in hand, he sought out to find Oz.

* * *

Oz was waiting down the hall when he spotted Oscar walking towards him, shaking.

"Found everything okay?"

Oscar nodded. He stood next to Oz, who glanced down on what Qrow had scavenged from his smaller Beacon students. _Did he really get him girl's clothing?_

Deciding not to mention it. Honestly, there weren't many short kings to pick from at the academy, so it made sense that for now all Oscar would have is the female student's donations. Still, Oz was taken a bit aback by the boy's choice to grab pajama pants covered in pink roses with a large blue long-sleeve shirt. _How bad were the other options?_

_Oh, who am I to judge. Maybe he just really likes pink and roses. Or maybe that was what he could find that fit._

_Or maybe he is too exhausted to care._

Whatever the case, Oz led Oscar to the bathroom, showing him the soaps and explaining which was which, and then explained how to turn the water on and adjust the temperature. 

Oscar just nodded.

"You're in a bit of a funk, so I'm going to set a timer for five minutes. Every five minutes I'm going to loudly knock and ask 'are you okay.' I need to hear you speak back to me so that I know you haven't passed out or something. Can you do that?"

Oscar flushed a bit but nodded. 

"I'm going to go outside and we'll practice once and then I'll come back in five. Don't lock me out. As embarrassing as this is for you, I don't want you hitting your head or collapsing or drowning or anything. I'd rather embarrass you than leave you to die in my bathroom taking a shower at four AM. I'm not rushing you, I'm just concerned. You're not in great health. Feel free to take as long as you'd like. Got it?"

Oscar nodded. Oz waited for the verbal answer, just to make sure the boy remembered how to talk. It took Oscar a minute but he figured it out.

"Got it," Oscar stumbled out.

Oz left, closing the door behind him. He knocked on the door. "You okay?" Oz called loudly.

"Still good," Oscar yelled back.

Oz set a timer on his scroll and walked away. _Hopefully, he doesn't try anything._ Oz walked towards the mess in the dining room. It was about time to clean up. He'd phone Glynda in the morning. She was good at repairing damage, there was hope for his china yet. 

* * *

Oscar took a deep breath, enjoying his final moment of privacy. After about 45 minutes in the bathroom and 9 check-ups from Oz, Oscar emerged, clean and clad in feminine pajamas, smiling. _I look awesome._

He found Oz in the kitchen, and he tried not to cringe at the mess of broken china and glass pushed to the corner.

"You look chipper," Oz smiled at him. 

Oscar could feel the curiosity radiate from him. His head buzzed ever so slightly. 

"Thank you. I I I I needed that."

"Of course. It is almost five in the morning. Would you like to try and sleep or shall we just start the day?"

"I'm in pajamas, so if we're officially getting up for the day, I need to get changed."

"Sleep then?"

Oscar nodded.

"Well, I'm going to finish my snack and I might go to sleep again as well. We should be getting a visit from Glynda at around seven. Do you know Professor Glynda Goodwitch?"

"I've never met her, but I know she's incredible. I've heard lots of wonderful stories. I'm kind of a fan, actually. Can you wake me up when she comes? I've always wanted to meet her." Oscar blushed.

"Sure thing. Get some rest, Oscar."

"You too, Ozi."

Oscar grinned as he walked back to his temporary room.

_I'm going to meet Glynda! Even if this is some freaky magic dimension and she isn't real, I just want to be in the same room as the legend!_

* * *

Oz frowned to himself the moment Oscar left his field of sight. _Ozi?_

_Nevermind that._

_He was in the same room as Glynda. He chose Qrow over her. Why is he suddenly such a super fan? He knew Qrow but not her? Something about this isn't right._

_Why does he know Qrow but not Glynda?_

Oz sent a message to Qrow. "Can you think of any reason as to why Oscar ran to you back in the secure hospital room and not Glynda? Apparently, he's a fan of Gylnda's. Do you know him and just didn't recognize his name or something? You should have been more of a stranger to him than her. Did you run into him on a huntsmen mission or something?"

He managed to get in a few more spoonfuls of yogurt before Qrow responded. The man may drink a lot, but he was sure quick to text back.

The message read, "IDK, never met the kid. Why do you ask?"

Oz responded, "Glynda's coming over to fix something at 7. Would you like to come by? I find it strange that he is excited to meet her, even though the two have crossed paths quite frequently."

"James and I had an idea of the kid's semblance- he may want to use it on her. Call?"

Oz sighed, looking at the time. "Yeah, give me a moment."

And thus began the phone call where Qrow discussed his theory of Oscar's semblance being some sort of power replication. Oz disagreed, but this whole adventure with Oscar had been quite a lot of firsts for him. 

_Just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it's not possible._

Ozpin sighed to himself. Glynda would be here soon enough. 

_I just wanna sleep. Ugh. This is just exhausting._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the love and comments! I make an effort to reply to every comment, so feel free to share whatever you'd like! I love the feedback, and whenever I read when the notification of a new comment, I smile. Ya'll are the best! 
> 
> **Question: Is it clear when the story switches perspectives?**  
>  I have been keeping character thoughts to italics and so I make sure that all thoughts belong to the current character. Is the line between paragraphs clear enough or should I add the words like "Oscar's perspective?" From what I can tell, it seems like no one is lost, but I want to double-check. Thanks for any feedback! (If I should make it more clear, I want to do it sooner than later so I can go back to previous chapters and change it. If the line break isn't really enough I want to modify it while this story is relatively short lol.)
> 
> Until the next chapter! Thanks for sticking with me this far! <3


	8. Glynda is not paid enough.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glynda comes over to Oz's house to fix the broken cabinet. She considered asking for a raise when Qrow crashed in but refrained. 
> 
> Upon returning back to Beacon, she sent the request in a polite email. After dealing with Oscar, it was rather apparent she was not being paid enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> -Panic Attack  
> -Flashbacks to watching someone die  
> -Blood and wound description
> 
> (I inserted the words "trigger warning" before it happens to minimize any anxiety felt waiting to encounter it. I added the words "end of trigger warning" if you want to skip to the end of it. I hope that helps everyone have a nice day.)

Glynda arrived at 7 AM sharp. She watched Oz rub his eyes, a haze over him. 

_He didn't sleep. Imma kick whoever suggested this idea. As if he couldn't be more stressed or sleep-deprived with the festival, let's introduce a demonic child into his home. 10/10 ideas, boys._

Oz opened his mouth to start explaining, but Glynda just cut him off and headed for the damage. She had heard plenty of crazy stories already to know that whatever happened made sense at the time. 

_Just take one more thing off his plate so he can deal with everything else._

Oz just nodded and led her to the dining room. 

She raised an eyebrow but set to work. _I'll have to hear this one later._

"I've got this. Why don't you rest, and I'll watch the kid until you wake back up."

Oz shook his head, his bangs somehow falling into further disarray. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'll wake you up if he wakes up. You need to sleep."

"Glynda, I"-

" **Oz.** " She used her 'mother' voice. It worked, as always, and Oz just nodded and gave in.

"Seriously though, wake me up. Things seem to either be fine with him, or he spirals out of control in mere seconds."

"Got it. I'll be here when you wake up."

Oz accepted the arrangement and headed to bed at 7:17 in the morning. Glynda smiled, tight-lipped, as she watched him walk away with a slight stumble. _He's done worse. Gods I hate how I know that._

She shook her head and got to work. Glynda got all the pieces back together rather easily (fixing a cabinet with dishes was far simpler than fixing a broken building, and the dented floor didn't prove too difficult). She proceeded to sit at the table, going through her email, having planned to stay and work a while when she agreed to come over.

She had a while before anyone woke up. Glynda had managed to schedule a vast array of meetings and clean through her inbox. Most Monday mornings consisted of such menial tasks, so she just accepted it. After a while she took a break from her computer, doing some housekeeping. 

It wasn't that the house wasn't clean. It was more along the lines of prepping food to be easy access, especially as Oz would be scrambling to throw meals together now that he had a second person around. _Especially since he's a handful._ She sliced up some fruit and vegetables, placing things into organized Tupperware. 

She had gone through the fridge, texting Qrow a list of kid-friendly food to buy, as well as some items to grab from her office. He came by with the requested items (along with frozen dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, but she wasn't sure if it was for himself or the child).

He ended up staying with her. It was awkward at first, but they fell into a nice conversation about their old Beacon days and the upcoming festival.

_When he's not slurring his words, he can actually be quite pleasant._

Oscar stumbled into the kitchen at around noon. He didn't seem too pleased to see them. He froze in place like a deer in headlights.

Glynda reflected on Oz's words of warning, seeing Oscar's elevated stress he would probably spiral in a few seconds. She was about to call out to Oz when Qrow grabbed her forearm. 

He shook his head and Glynda was already regretting her life choices. _I'm disobeying the wisdom of an ancient wizard for the ideas of a drunkard. I'm brilliant._

"So, Oscar," Qrow spoke to the frightened child incredibly casually. Oscar's eyes shifted to him and Qrow just leaned into it with a smirk.

_I suppose that comes with practice from life or death situations. The man is quite smooth._

"Decided on the pink roses jammies, huh?" Qrow chuckled, thoroughly amused.

Oscar snapped out of it, flushing bright pink. 

_If this kid wasn't a potential terrorist, he would almost be adorable. It really is a tragedy that someone so small and cute can be so threatening._

Oscar immediately began stumbling over his words. "Oh! Uh, a friend of mine has the same pair so I thought, you know, I should wear them?" His inflection rose as he shrugged sheepishly. _He just seems so normal right now, it's hard to imagine he exploded a display case mere hours ago._

Qrow smiled at him. "Oh yeah? Does this friend of yours got a name?"

"Uhhh... I don't think I should say."

Qrow quirked a brow, "why's that?"

"I... want her to stay safe."

"You think Imma hurt someone for having pink rose PJs? You gotta be kidding me, pipsqueak."

"Forgive me, but I'm beginning to wonder if you are who you say you are. You're not acting right."

"What, cause I sobered up?"

"Huh?"

"I've learned not to drink around you." _You know it's bad when even_ _**Qrow** decided to be sober. This is a whole new level of weird though. I haven't seen Qrow sober on enough separate occasions to know how to handle it. Not that I'm complaining, I'd take this over normal Qrow any day. He's more charming this way. _

"You'd really stop drinking for me? You were tipsy last time I saw you." Oscar's eyes were wide and curious, like a child holding a puppy for the first time. 

Qrow glanced over to Glynda before just going along with it. "Uhhh sure kid".

Glynda rolled her eyes. _Does Oscar think Qrow is sober right now to make him happy? I don't know who this kid really is, but he is at least feigning naivety very well._

Noticing Oscar had yet to get any closer to them, Glynda asked, "can we get you anything? It is lunchtime, but perhaps you'd rather have cereal or something?"

Oscar didn't respond, but the deer in headlights returned as he stared at her in an odd mix of fear and curiosity. 

"I bought some of that cinnamon sugar cereal if that sounds good." Qrow tried to pull the kid's attention back, but Oscar remained stagnant. 

_Why is he looking at me like that? Is it time to get Oz?_

_Wait._

_Does he know who I am? Oz did say he wanted to meet me..._

"I don't think we've met, have we?" Glynda kept her voice quiet, hoping to avoid triggering him any further.

Oscar shook his head slightly, his eyes not leaving her. He shifted his weight. _Great, that looks like a fighting stance._

Glynda smiled softly in hopes to win his trust and silently prayed he wouldn't explode something again. "I'm Professor Glynda Goodwitch, I work with Prossefor Ozpin at Beacon Academy. We're rather close."

Oscar's jaw dropped ever so slightly, and the fear shifted into awe. "Seriously?" he whispered, leaning towards her. His mouth never fully shut.

It took more willpower than expected to restrain a giggle. _I did not expect that reaction._ Glynda just smiled and whispered back, "seriously."

The giggle escaped as she watched Oscar freak out. _I've seen people fangirl over huntsmen before, but this is by far the worst I've seen in a while._

The adults attempted to contain themselves before Qrow finally broke into a laugh. Oscar was vibrating with excitement and letting out what Glynda assumed to be a squeal. 

"What did I do to deserve this reaction?" Glynda couldn't wipe the grin off her face, not that she was actively trying.

The small boy in the pink rose pajamas was practically jumping up and down. "You're my hero! I've heard so many amazing stories about you! You're, like, the most responsible person at Beacon and the most talented and badass and the most _ugh_ , you know!?!"

Glynda giggled, for she did not know.

Qrow wheezed, "who's been telling you fairytales, kid?"

Glynda swatted him, spurring another laughing fit from the grown unshaved toddler.

Oscar giggled along, a youthful honesty radiating from him, "I'm being serious! Oz used to tell me all kinds of stories of Glynda saving the day! She really is like a fairytale hero." If this was a cartoon, there would be little hearts over Oscar's eyes as he admired the huntress.

But alas, this was reality. Still, Glynda was ready to pinch herself to double-check that fact.

_He's barely been here two days, how many stories has this kid been able to hear? He must be projecting his imagination onto me. Still, I should go along with it. No reason to make him think otherwise, at least not yet. I'll be the demonic child's hero._

_Why not?_

There was a loud noise, and Oscar just about committed murder, but he didn't, he just yelped. Oz stumbled out from the hallway, still visibly exhausted. 

Upon seeing Oz, Oscar composed himself immediately. "Did we wake you up? I'm sorry, we should've been quieter." He rubbed the back of his head, further fuzzing up the uncombed mess of hair on his head. 

Oz seemed relieved that everything was fine, but Gylnda caught his subtle glare for not waking him up as she had promised. She just smiled at him.

"How long have you been up?" Oz just approached the kid, ignoring Oscar's instinctual step backward. 

Oscar glanced to the adults, who both knew to let Oz handle it. "Uhh, not too long? I slept in for once, I promise!"

"I'm sure you did. Have you eaten yet?"

Oscar shook his head. Oz was now close enough to touch him if he wanted to. Oscar scrunched up his nose, shrinking back in discomfort. 

"Let's go get some food then." Oz ignored the flinch as he guided Oscar into the kitchen by the small of his back.

* * *

Oz hid his surprise when he opened the fridge. _Someone had fun in here._ _I have no idea what's in here or what anything is. Yay._

He grabbed a random Tupperware, looking through the top. _Who the heck puts grapes in Tupperware? Is that a thing nowadays? And here I thought I was keeping up with the times._ "Do you like grapes?"

"Sure," Oscar stood on his tip-toes peering into the fridge over Oz's shoulder. 

"How hungry are you? I do believe we can make sandwiches."

"I'm okay."

"Here, take this to the table, I think I'm going to get out the sandwich materials." _If I can find it._

Oscar took the Tupperware of grapes and walked over to the table. 

With Oscar's back turned, he gave Glynda a panicked look of what-did-you-do-to-my-food. She replied with a tight-lipped smile and a shrug. Oz spotted the strawberry jam. It was going to be a PB&J kind of day.

* * *

Qrow watched Oscar sit down, setting the plastic container down silently. He sat frozen in his seat. _Jeez, this kid's shy._

Qrow leaned over, popping off the lid and snagging a grape. He pushed it into his mouth, chewing with a satisfied smirk.

Oscar watched like a hawk. 

_I know kid, I stole your grape. The audacity._ "How many am I gonna eat before you eat one?"

Oscar opened his mouth to retort but said nothing. Qrow took the opportunity to throw a grape at him. It didn't land in his mouth, but bounced off of his chin, rolling onto the floor. Oscar watched it roll like a cat with a laser pointer. 

Qrow snicked, eating another grape. Once the grape stopped rolling, Oscar turned back to him.

"You're missing out, kiddo, these are good."

Oscar took a grape, eating it cautiously. After the first grape, his pace quickened, and he munched away. 

Qrow leaned back in his chair until only two chair legs were on the ground. "Hey Oz," he called out, noticing Oscar's head perk up too. 

Oz turned to Qrow with an "mhhm" of recognition. 

"You might want to make Oscar one of those too. He's pretty hungry."

Oscar flushed and Qrow gave him a knowing look. Oscar gave him an exasperated look. _Yeah, I called you out, kid. Whatcha gonna do?_

Oscar didn't deny it but ate the grapes a bit slower. Qrow rolled his eyes. "You feeling any better?"

Oscar nodded. Qrow could have sworn he watched the kid bite a grape in half just to eat a bit slower. _Doesn't make you look any less hungry, kid, just a lot sadder._

"Hopefully, we can get those bandages off your neck soon. I'm sure the general will have one of his men come by to take a look at it. "

Oscar's hand immediately reached up to cover his neck. He flashed Qrow a glare.

 _What, did I trigger something?_ Qrow raised an eyebrow and shrugged, playing the surge of slight panic off as 'unbothered.'

Oscar huffed and rolled his eyes as he devoured a grape in utter rage. _This is a funny kind of angry._ _Who knew all I needed to make my life more amusing was grapes._

Glynda pulled up her email. "General Ironwood emailed me earlier, saying he would come by with a doctor at around four today to check up. I'm assuming that time works?"

"I'm fine." There was a darkness in Oscar's tone.

Qrow felt fear drip down his spine. _'_ _Fine' is not the word I would have gone with._

"Oscar," Oz interjected, finally having sandwiches to bring to the table. "You're clearly still injured, and we have much to discuss regarding your current physical state."

"My aura has healed everything, there wasn't much damage left last night, and I feel perfectly fine now, thank you very much."

"Oscar," Oz sighed into his sandwich, "you're clearly not fine."

"I'm fine." There was a poison to the way Oscar said it. _He may be fine, but I get the feeling that when he's done with us, we won't be._

"Then what are the bandages around your neck for?" Qrow could tangibly feel the patience in Oz's voice. _That man has superpowers, how the heck is he so talented and keeping his cool?_

"They're to cover up old scars."

"If I were to ask a doctor to verify that, could they?"

"You don't need a doctor to verify it, you already know! I'm not hungry anymore." Oscar pushed away the grapes and stormed out of the room. There was something eerie about how he had yelled that first part and whispered the second.

Oz sighed, taking a bite of his food. "I'll go after him in a minute, I'm going to let him cool off."

Qrow looked at the now-empty seat in front of him. _Today is not going how I expected it to._

* * *

**-trigger warning-**

Oscar pulled himself into a ball as he lay across the bed he had put together earlier. The quilt was no longer smooth and picture-worthy but rumpled. Little teardrops littered the pillowcase below him.

_Why did they bring that up!_

_why_

_Why_

_WHY_

_WHY did they do that? They know I'm sensitive about it!_

His stomach rumbled and he curled in further. Everything hurt. He wasn't sure how long he lay there, tracing the pink roses on his pajamas, zoned out.

A bubble formed in his lungs. It had come on so suddenly. He forced himself to take a deep breath but it didn't work. The room got colder as it snowed around him. 

He needed to get his mother to stop screaming in his ear. His head buzzed. He covered his ears, trying to survive the screeching sounds. The little pink roses dripped as blood seeped out of their centers. The screaming stopped and everything went silent. His ears rang. There was pressure on his chest.

Oscar felt the Grimm's presence as it loomed behind him. It had come for him next.

He buried his head into the snow, wishing there would be screaming again. Somehow it felt like there was, even though Oscar knew there was no one left to be screaming.

His neck burned as his face fell numb to the ice. There was a loud bang of a weapon as everything went dark.

* * *

Oz had run to Oscar's room the moment he had heard screaming. By the time he had thrown open the door, the room was in disarray. The light switch didn't work, but Oz was quick to pull out his scroll. 

There was an obstacle course of clothes on the floor, and reflective shards littered across them. _I'm assuming that's the mirror then._

Glynda and Qrow were right behind him. Glynda immediately began repairing the light. Qrow shined his scroll light into the room, giving Oz a better shot at navigating to the bed, where he presumed Oscar was. 

The light was back on quickly and the sight was... ghastly.

Oscar had dug his nails into his leg. _I_ _s that blood?_ There were shards of glass from the mirror inserted into Oscar's neck as if it were a needle cushion. _That's definitely blood._

The pillow was somehow shredded, the fluff that had filled it leaking out onto the bed. From the way Oscar was audibly breathing, it was almost like he was suffocating in it. 

His shirt clung to him, a clear line of sweat visibly outlined his figure. 

_I left him alone for mere minutes. I can't let him out of my sight unless he is 100% stable, can I?_

Oz rushed over to Oscar, immediately going to work on getting Oscar breathing normally. Pulling his face out of the remains of the pillow, Oscar began to cough up bloody pillow stuffing. 

"Qrow, call James." 

Glynda, already knowing her order, began to clean up the room, clearing a path for the inevitable physician. Getting the drawers back into the dresser, she got all the clothes stored away and began to collect fragments of the mirror. 

As Glynda collected shards, the fragments in Oscar's neck came loose and popped out. Oz was not fast enough to stop it. The bandage that had been so pristine before was now fading into crimson. Oz knew yelling would only make it worse. 

_At least the wound is wrapped already?_

The doctor and the general were there in a handful of minutes. Oscar remained unconscious, but the room looked much better.

The doctor pulled out her medical bag, snapping on gloves. She unwound the bandage from his neck.

The skin was uneven, and there was blood between the wrinkles of flesh. The doctor wiped up blood, looking for the center of the wound. Oscar's neck was free of blood before the doctor could spot a wound. 

_His aura healed it. Must not have been too deep, which makes sense. If it had been super deep it would have killed him._

They got his bloody rose pajamas off of him, and into a different pair of sweatpants. (Qrow had picked them out, so they had a more masculine vibe to them, even if they were still found in the female section of the clothing store.)

* * *

Ironwood sent the doctor home. As far as they could tell, Oscar was as physically healthy as he was going to get. She had re-wrapped Oscar's neck up, and everything seemed like it was going to be okay again.

He watched Oz, observing the wizard's moves. _What did I miss here?_

Oz got Qrow to fetch something to clean the blood out from underneath Oscar's nails. 

_He's taking care of him so tenderly, it's strange to think that once this is all over, they will probably be enemies._

* * *

**-end trigger warning-**

Oz sighed to himself. Oscar was snuggled up under the covers in fresh clothes, and seemingly calmer. Oscar leaned into Oz's touch as he ran his fingers through his hair. _Still works._

Ironwood had decided to stay, which was fine, but he was staring at Oz as if he was a book of ancient runes. Technically readable, but in practice confounding. _At least we don't have to worry about the doctor coming by later since Oscar is already cleared. This kid has got one powerful aura._

Qrow, avoiding the tension in the room, left and fetched everyone's lunch from the table. Oz was more than happy to get a few more bites in.

Oscar's stomach growled and he stirred. 

_Oh yay, we woke him up with the smell of food._

He heard Qrow mumble, "I'll get the grapes."

Oz considered various snarky remarks, but the confusion on the general's face felt satisfying enough. 

Oscar woke up from his twenty-minute nap, leaning into Oz for attention with wide eyes that screamed "feed me."

Oz found himself smiling. _For a nightmare fuel child, he really is darn cute._


	9. Imagine Honest Communication. Wouldn't that be nice?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some lovely grapes takes place a lovely conversation. 
> 
> The dying fall maiden, magic, and terrorist attacks: just casual things you talk about in regular conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger Warning**  
>  \- Amber (Fall maiden from the vault)  
> \- Talk of panic attacks (no actual panic attacks)  
> \- Mentions of injury and scars (no descriptions or anything gory)  
> \- A lot of confusion and brilliant stupidity (this will probably trigger you the most)

Oscar didn't move to sit up when Qrow placed the Tupperware of grapes in his lap. He kept his head firmly planted on the warm body behind him, and calmly devoured the remaining grapes. No one spoke. 

They all just watched Oscar unapologetically shove grapes in his mouth while cuddled up to Oz. It was like watching a snapping turtle attack it's food. Cute by itself, but eerily entrancing when it started chomping away ravenously. 

Oscar was a bit weirded out by the quiet, but he was too busy eating to comment on it. There was someone warm next to him, _probably Jaune,_ and Oscar had no intention to move any time soon. _It's nice to be held._

At some point, Qrow left and came back with a sandwich. Oscar ate that too.

_I haven't been this hungry in a while. How long was I out?_

Someone broke the silence. "So, Oscar. You seem to be feeling a bit better."

_I know that voice and I don't like it._

Oscar looked over to confirm his suspicions. _Oh yay, if it isn't General James Ironwood. Where are we? This doesn't look like Atlas._

It all hit Oscar like a truck.

_Oh gods, I'm still in the weird Salem dimension. I thought this fever dream was over. Crapitty crap crap crap._

_I'm not leaning on Jaune, am I?_

Oscar turned his head slowly to look at Oz, who was looking at him bemused and amused. Oz still had a hand on his head. Oscar pushed down the sudden rush of nausea, wishing he would just snap out of whatever this was already.

"Good afternoon, Oscar Pine," Oz spoke gently, guiding Oscar back to his previous position of snuggling.

Qrow smirked at Oscar's panic as he processed his situation. The kid had the funniest facial expressions. He looked almost as ridiculous as Ruby did at social events, and it was odd to put someone else besides her in that tier of extremely expressive. 

Oz kept fiddling with Oscar's hair. "You gave us quite the scare there. Are you alright?"

Oscar continued to stare off into space, wide-eyed. _Did I almost wake up from this nightmare or something? What did I do and how do I do it again but better?_

"Uhhh, hi, Oz. What exactly did I do, again?"

Oz ruffled his hair playfully. "It seemed like you had a panic attack. Your magic seems to like being used when you're upset."

_Panic attack, huh? Now what would have come up that would have triggered that? And will a strong enough panic wake me up back into reality?_

_The vault. Maybe they asked about how I first appeared in the vault before I passed out._

"Her name was Amber, right?"

* * *

Oz stopped agitating Oscar's hair for a beat. _What does Amber have to do with his neck wound? Is that how he knows all of this?_

_Was he there when Amber was attacked? Did he meet her somehow?_

_Maybe he teleported to her since they have a bond?_

_Maybe she gave him some of her magic?_

_Maybe he **stole** some of her magic and has a shapeshifting semblance?_

_What if Oscar is actually the attacker we've been looking for? The injuries could have been from the fight with Qrow or just the process of stealing the magic itself._

_More proof that this kid most likely is a work of Salem. It's getting harder to deny now._

* * *

Oscar bit his lip. _They're probably trying to avoid giving me a panic attack by mentioning her._

_She **must** be the key to me getting out of this nightmare._

"Righttt, Amber. So why is her dead body just chilling in a glass coffin where the vault should be?"

The adults panicked.

 _Was that too forward? I forgot these people are cryptids and speak in lies and manipulations. Being an adult sounds much harder than being a kid._ _There's a lot of deceit to keep track of._

Oz released him of his hug hold and Oscar sat up, scootching away until there was a reasonable distance between them. Oz made no move to stop him.

"What do you know about Amber?" Qrow leaned forward in his chair, interrogation ready. His tone was dark.

"Just what you told me?" Oscar hated the way the room looked at him as he shifted his weight. 

"And what might that be?"

"She was the fall maiden before Cinder? And Cinder's whole ordeal with the Amber was part of the reason why Pyrrha died?"

Qrow's eyes narrowed as he scanned Oscar.

"You were clearly uncomfortable so I didn't ask any follow-up questions. It just gave me some idea of what to do when Jaune spiraled about Cinder since no one talked about Pyrrha. Oz didn't want to talk about it since he was involved or something, and he was already dead long before whatever happened there when Pyrrha died. Everyone kinda kept forgetting that Oz didn't actually know what happened at the Fall since he kinda died early on so how the heck what I supposed to know anything about Cinder, or Pyrrha, or Penny? I don't know much about the Fall, everyone just kinda got quiet so I stopped asking. I know Cinder orchestrated some part of the attack though."

It was like Qrow was torturing him with his glare. It was uncomfortable enough that it felt like physical pain.

"I don't know what else you want me to say! You were usually pretty drunk and I didn't want you to drink more so I dropped it! Please stop looking at me like that."

Qrow was as unwavering as a gargoyle. 

"Please?"

Qrow blinked, but never let his eyes off of Oscar.

Oscar gave up. "Nyah," he cried as he buried his head into Oz's shoulder, getting rid of the space he had put between himself and Oz. Qrow was scary sometimes. 

* * *

Some part of Ozpin wanted to tell Qrow to back off, but he had gotten the kid to talk. 

Albeit, it was utter nonsense, but it was something. 

This meant he was able to interrogate Oscar. Oscar hadn't blown up the room but just obeyed Qrow. _I thought I had control of this kid's behavior, but wow is this kid connected to Qrow. I can get him calm, and Qrow can get him talking._

_This works._

Oz mouthed to Qrow, "keep going." He knew he didn't have to- Qrow could practically read his mind some days. Qrow nodded in agreement. They were both curious.

Rocking Oscar gently, Oz held the child close to his chest. Qrow could scare the kid into talking. Oz could prevent the room from exploding. _Just trust Qrow to get to the bottom of this and keep Oscar stable. Trust the smart birdie._

He ran his fingers through Oscar's hair. "You good?" He whispered to him.

"Is Qrow done staring at me?" Oscar meekly responded. 

Oz made eye contact with Qrow, who proceeded to lean back casually as if he had no intention of doing that exact same tactic again.

"Yeah. You're okay. He won't hurt you."

"I don't believe you, but okay." Oscar faced the group again, still attached to Oz in a panicked koala hug. Oz just held him.

Oscar didn't take his eyes off of Qrow, fear sparking on his glossy eyes.

* * *

Qrow knew not to push his luck. He didn't have much luck to begin with.

"I was Amber's travel partner and I don't remember meeting you. Perhaps I told you stories while drunk and I just don't remember you?"

Qrow knew that was a lie. Not only did he never get that level of drunk while on protection duty, but Amber would have stepped in if he had started dropping information bombs like that on a random child.

Oscar shook his head. _He didn't fall for that one. Good. Kid's clever. Should make this more fun._

"So then, how did we meet?"

Oscar didn't answer.

"Why don't you tell me about Cinder, then? I'm afraid I don't know who that is." Qrow leaned forward again, slightly.

_Pressure applied._

Oz met his eyes and gave a swift nod in confirmation.

* * *

Oscar had no idea how to respond to that. 

_First, he doesn't remember meeting me and now he wants to know what I know about Cinder? These people must work for Salem. Why else would they want to know what I know about this?_

"You know full well who Cinder is. She's you're co-worker, isn't she? Why don't you go ask your boss to get me out of this freaky magic dimension so I can giver her a piece of my mind."

_I'm done playing this stupid game. You wanna come at me? Come at me and pay._

_I may be small, but I'm feisty._

* * *

Oz looked down curiously at the child. He looked like he was about to fight Qrow, which was a curious stance to develop mid-koala-hug. His little face was furious, adorably angry.

 _Ah, demon child shows his face again. Lovely._ _We'll find out more about Cinder another time._

"Enough about that. Why don't we talk about something else?" Oz spoke calmly as to not further disturb the child. 

"I literally just called you people out for working for Salem. What do you mean let's talk about something else?"

Oz was rattled. "We don't work for Salem, Oscar. We are literally the group combating her."

"Then why do you keep asking me such bizarre questions? If you were really Professor Ozpin you would know exactly who I am. This isn't even a good lie!"

"You can't divide us that easy. I'm not sure what you think you're doing, but it's not really working."

"What?"

"You showed up one day out of absolutely nowhere into a top-secret vault, spewing things only someone deeply involved with this would know, all while having magic. Did Salem get jealous of my maidens and try to make herself some of her own magical henchmen? Call you one of her new group of gentlemen? I know that's not like her, especially because she would have never picked you. So where did you get so powerful? Who are you really, Oscar Pine?"

"Who am I? You're the ones who kidnapped me! What do you mean you don't know who I am?"

Oz stared at Oscar in disbelief. _Why is this kid sticking by this blatantly obvious lie?_

* * *

Oscar stared at who he could presume to be Salem in disbelief. _Why are they still going with this?_

_Some part of me knows Salem is too smart to go with a lie this stupid. Like what did they think they could pull off here? Make me believe I was somehow a time traveler so I would reveal what I know?_

_Oh, wait, yeah that actually makes sense. Huh._

_It's so stupid that it's actually kinda smart. I mean, if this is too stupid of a lie to be Salem, then she gets away with this._

_But it feels too darn dumb! There's no way she would actually pull something this stupid!_

_Or is that what she wants me to think?_

_Did I time travel or does Salem think she can deceive me by making me think that I did?_

_Ahhhh my brain hurts!_

* * *

Ozpin studied the boy in front of him.

_He keeps claiming I'm dead. Why does he think this lie is going to suffice? I mean, I'm well aware that I am not dead._

_These lies don't even make sense!_

_What in the world is Salem trying to get at here? Is he just a distraction? Why does she think that this cover story will work?_

_Why would such a blatant lie work? How little does she think of me?_

_I mean she did manage to get him into my house. That's trippy._

_Is this blatant lie seriously working?_

_Am I about to lose everything to a lie that bad? Like that took zero effort, he is literally just spewing nonsense and dropping names!_

_How is this winning our trust? How did he get this far?_

_Why is this so easy for her?_

* * *

Oscar stared into Oz's copper eyes. _I hate how 'Oz' looks just as confused as I am. She really is that good._

_Maybe I can use how dumb this is against them._

_Oz told me what he presumed happened at the Fall after he died while he was persuading me to leave the farm. If this current Oz were to make those same presumptions, they must be the real Oz._

_Unless Salem is that smart?_

_How do you deal with the fact that this is the dumbest most brilliant puzzle ever? It's either so dumb that it's obviously time travel or so brilliant that it's obviously a trick._

_The entire future of humanity rests on a 50/50 shot!_

_If I really did time travel, I need to work with this Oz and save a lot of people and give him advice from the future. If this is truly Salem then I can tell her nothing so she can't get any stronger in the future._

_I need to find something that I would know that Salem wouldn't, but if I did travel back in time, then what in the world is constant? It's not like I can ask Ruby. If this is indeed reality, the fall of Beacon hasn't happened yet!_

**_What could I know from the past that Salem in the future would not know but past Oz could verify?_ **

* * *

Glynda watched Ozpin and Oscar stare at each other in utter disbelief. It was like both of them were loading into reality, like a video game with too much rendering. It was freaky to see them both lost in thought, drifting through time. _I am not paid enough for this._

She eyed over the general and Qrow, who each looked as concerned as Ozpin. 

_So we are all in agreement that this kid works for Salem, right?_

_Gods this is insane._

_How is this happening?_

* * *

Oz finally broke the piercing silence. "I do know one thing for certain. When this first began, you knew with certainty that I was either Oz or Salem because of the magic. You must have gotten your magic from Salem or from me. Agreed?"

"I am the new reincarnation of Ozma. I got my magic the man you're pretending to be, Professor Ozpin, when he died. The only way a guy can have magic is from Ozma."

"I never gave you magic. **I** am the reincarnation of Ozma. Therefore you got your magic from Salem, as odd as that seems that she gave away her own power."

"I'm not stupid. That kind of lie won't work on me. You can't trick me into not believing a fundamental truth about myself. **I** am the reincarnation of Ozma."

The two looked at each other. No one was willing to fold.

Qrow stood up. "My luck and I are leaving before this gets weirder." 

Oz was confused about why Oscar was upset by Qrow leaving but had no idea what to say. This was such a bizarre tactic he had no plan for it. _What a day._

Oscar bit his lip before speaking up. "As much as I hate to admit it, I have no way to determine whether you're Oz and I'm somehow time traveling, or you're Salem and I'm in some elaborate magic trap. Only you can know the truth because you know if you're lying to me or not. It's impossible for me to know. My best option is to stay as your guest and see if I can't get to know you better. What do you have to say to that?"

_Time travel?_

_Now that would have never occurred to me. Why would the only way for me to be Ozpin be that he also had to be a time traveler? These are two very bizarre choices to be between to present as the only solutions._

"Oscar, why do you think you're a time traveler?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No."

"Oh."

Oz looked at him expectantly. _Why did Qrow leave? We need him to get Oscar talking again._ _Just our luck that you would give up hope on yourself and leave when we needed you most, Qrow._

_Just our luck._

Oscar got the hint to start talking. "You're dead. I have your magic. If you're in the same room as me alive, then I must be back in time before you were dead. How else could you be real and be in the same place as me? Either you're Salem and Oz is dead, or you're Oz and I'm in the past before you died."

Oz thought about it. _That makes a lot of sense, actually. It explains quite a bit._

_Why he would know some of us, but not all of us._

_Why he thinks some people are dead._

_Why he knows things no one has told him._

_But if he really is from the future, then does that mean Mantle will be attacked soon? The fall? Cinder?_

_Suddenly his rambling nonsense is the key to saving humanity. I don't think anyone was paying any heed to it._

_But then again, this could be one of Salem's goons pretending to know the future to get us to fall for her traps. Listening to him could also be the cause of the end of humanity._

_This is quite the conundrum._

"Well, that is quite sound logic. If this is true, then perhaps you could help us? Can you help us prepare for your time in the future?"

Oscar considered it. "In case you are Salem and not Oz and this is all just a cruel joke, I have conditions."

"Quite reasonable."

"I refuse to tell you anything that Salem in the future doesn't know. And, you have to teach me how to use magic. If you truly are Oz, your teachings should confirm your identity as my muscle memory will kick in to match your training exactly. I need the training, and you need the advice. Deal?"

"I also have some conditions."

"Go on."

"I am allowed to ignore any and all advice you give and you can not get upset with me for it. I will also decide what I teach you in magic and will be allowed to stop training you at any point if you attempt to use any of it against me. Fair?"

"So essentially, we're agreeing we can help each other, but actually bothering to help each other is completely optional? But we agree that there's an option that we can help each other?"

"It does seem that way."

"At any time, we can stop and amend this deal. Agreed?"

"This deal holds no power or meaning, so I don't see any harm in having it."

"It is motivation for me to advise you the best I can with the scraps of information that I have about the Fall and motivation for you to train me. There's no accountability in it since there's no trust between us. It makes sense given the circumstances."

"Sounds like we have an agreement, Mr. Pine."

"Glad to have one, Professor Ozpin."

"It sounds strange to hear you say that after calling me Oz all the time."

"You didn't call me Oscar. I went with it."

"Okay, Oscar."

"Alright, Oz."

* * *

Glynda texted Qrow the update. 

_Time travel. The theory we are going with about Oscar is time travel._

_Qrow's going to love this._

Glynda watched Oscar further curl up to Oz, having reached a conclusion for the day. 

"Oz, I think it would be wise to start formulating a list of thing's Oscar has mentioned that we would like to know about. While the general and I go work on that, why don't you two go make more food?" She straightened her clothes as she stood up from her chair. They had all been sitting down too long. 

"Yep," was all the general said as he immediately got up and left the room.

_At least I'm not the only one who wants to leave this to Oz. I almost want to get Qrow back in here. Suffer with us, dang it. Your semblance is no excuse to get out of this nonsense Mr. Birdwen!_

Glynda and Ironwood left the demon child and the wizard to their weird deals and headed to the living room.

* * *

Oz looked down at the kid in his arms. _If he really is just a kid lost in time, this is so much sweeter. If this is a henchman, I must admit, he's pretty dang good._

"You wanna make a casserole?" Oscar's voice was small and unsure.

Oz pulled him tighter in the hug. "Let's go see what we have."

"Maybe Qrow won't be scared and he can join us for dinner."

"How do you know Qrow, anyway?"

"He's taken care of me, just like he took care of my cane until I found him. He was the only adult around to care. He made a good uncle, even if it was just pretend."

"I'm sure he'd love to hear that."

"I doubt it. He'd probably freak out. Responsibility causes him to drink. I'd rather him think he doesn't have to do too much, but can always volunteer to do extra, than expect him to do much and lead him to drink more when it feels overwhelming. He's got the kind of heart that will always lead him to give a little extra, so it works out to give him less tasks to do."

"He has an amazing heart. I'm glad you had each other in the future."

"Me too."

Oz eventually released him from the hug and they went to the kitchen.

"I'll message Qrow and see if he wants to join us for dinner. Why don't you decide what kind of casserole to make?"

Oscar nodded, and started shuffling through the cupboards for ingredients. 

Oz supervised as he texted Qrow, "Want free dinner tonight? I think we're going to end up discussing some things and I'd like for your input if you're available."

The response came back by the time the oven pre-heated. "How tipsy am I allowed to be before you don't let me in?"

Oz sighed but smiled at Oscar when he looked up at him.

_It's going to be an interesting evening._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I laughed out loud many a time when writing this. I love confused people, it's too funny. I loved writing this. :D
> 
> Also, I've been working on the overall plot and I am hyped for where I plan to take this. I don't want to rush anything, but I've got some epic ideas that I'm looking forward to writing! 
> 
> Thanks for being awesome!
> 
> **Happy Halloween!**


	10. A Discussion Over Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about time everyone starts to get on the same page. Hopefully, this clarifies any questions anyone has about the timeline and current events. A lot of dialogue, not much excitement, I know. Just have to do some stuff establishing the world real quick. :)
> 
> Also: **~ NEW CHARACTER UNLOCKED! ~**  
>  I hope you like him, I think he's funny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Key:  
>  _\- Character thinking_  
>  _-_ _Ozma's people making communications to the person they're possessing_
> 
>   
>  (Don't worry, it should be super obvious who's talking. Figured I should spell it out since it is new just to be super clear.)

Oz had gotten a puzzle started on the coffee table, and Oscar was keeping himself quiet and busy with it in the back room. Oz had gone to set the table, a valid reason to give Oscar space and get some time with the other adults.

Qrow had shown up mostly aware of his surroundings. Oz didn't care to complain. He was happy to be discussing time travel with the other adults, slowly confirming to them that it was the most likely scenario. 

_I can't believe that Oscar's time-traveling theory is plausible. Why am I going with this over the Salem henchmen theory again?_ _Why am I vouching for this child?_

_Why do I trust this total stranger with the most ridiculous tale?_

* * *

Qrow changed the subject off of Oscar. It wasn't that Qrow believed the kid could time travel and wanted to get on with his day. Far from it. It was because the general was being such a nuisance about the idea that time travel was possible. _Can't James shut up and stop complaining about how risky this is for five seconds?_

"So if the kids staying, when are we going shopping? Team RWBY is going to come back from their mission to Mountain Glenn soon and they're going to want their extra clothes back."

"I thought you had asked for the student's permission first," said Oz.

"I did... for the most part."

Qrow could feel annoyance radiating from Oz. Either that, or he was vaguely amused. He was a bit too tipsy to tell.

"Hey, in my defense, I could tell that Oscar is Ruby's size. There's not a lot of huntsmen at this school that I know who are that small. Did you want me to approach random short people and be like, 'hey can I have some of your clothes? It's for a good cause I swear.' I think most people would find that weird."

Glynda rolled her eyes. "Perhaps we should go out shopping tomorrow then. It'd be a good opportunity to test trusting him out in the real world."

"It's not like I had any plans for tomorrow anyway," Oz replied.

The general remained quiet as the rest of the group discussed their plan to go shopping for supplies. _He's probably thinking about sending troops to supervise the trip, and the additional attention will make it worse. I'm so glad I'm not Oz right now, I would hate dealing with him for days on end._

_I already hate dealing with him now. How does Oz do it?_

The timer went off, and Oz left to the kitchen, pulling out the homemade casserole. 

Qrow left to go fetch Oscar from his puzzle. _I'd rather deal with the insane kid over the general any day. At least the kid gives free hugs._

* * *

Oscar followed Qrow to the table but chose not to sit next to him. He hadn't minded drunk Qrow when he was scared, but he was calmer now and it didn't sound as exciting as sitting with Glynda.

He could tell Qrow was slightly offended, but Glynda seemed amused by it. Oz sat on his left, moving his chair a bit too close to be comfortable, but Oscar didn't want to push his luck and complain about his personal space. Qrow sat by Oz and the general took the remaining seat between Qrow and Glynda.

It was tense, but the food was delicious. _For a discussion over dinner, we're not doing a lot of discussing._

_Are they staring at me?_

_Am I eating too fast? I feel like I'm eating too fast. Why is no one else eating? Do they not like the casserole?_

_This was so much easier when Ruby and Nora would fill up a room with noise._

"Oscar, would you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Oz asked.

Oscar stopped shoveling food in his mouth and looked at him. _I've eaten half a plate!_

Oz scooped up his first bite and ate it slowly. _Like a normal person. Why am I so hungry?_

"Sure." Oscar set down his fork and attempted to look more like the fancy adults in the room. He placed his hands on the tabletop and forced his shoulders back to be postured.

* * *

Oz silently questioned why Oscar was wiggling like a worm. _Is he nervous? What is he doing? Why is he sitting so weirdly?_

_We should have fed him earlier, he clearly didn't eat enough for lunch. Who am I kidding, all he ate was grapes and a sandwich! I'm a terrible caretaker._

"Oscar, you've mentioned the name Cinder a few times now. Can you tell me about her?"

"Cinder? Uh, yeah. What do you want to know?"

"I'm afraid I have never even heard of her."

"Wait, seriously? How far into the past am I?"

"I'm not sure. How far in the future are you? Is there a place **you'd** like to begin?"

"Well, I know this is before the 40th Vytal Tournament. How long away is that? Like, years or?"

"The 40th Vytal tournament? What's so monumental about it?"

"Uhhh, it's kinda the last one you were alive for."

_I must have died during or before the tournament then. That's something to look out for if it's true._

"Interesting. It's coming up, actually. Any other ideas to narrow down the date?" Oz took another bite. _This kid is a surprisingly good cook._

"What about Roman Torchwick and Neo? Have they shown up yet?"

Glynda chimed in, "I believe we've met Roman Torchwick. Dust thief, right?"

"Dust thief? Yeah, Ruby did say she met Torchwick when he was robbing a dust shop. Is that all you know about him?"

Glynda sent Oz a what-the-heck look, and Oz just smiled into it. _Play it cool and keep him talking._

"Um, what about the Beacon dance? The one before the tournament? Has that happened yet?" Oscar asked.

"The dance where we got hacked? Yeah, that's happened," the general said, setting his glass of water onto the table loudly.

 _No need for dramatics, **James**. Don't shut him down! Stay casual! _ _Always end with a question to keep him talking._

Oscar let out a "hmmm" before going back to eating. _Great, now he's totally zoned out._

Oz put more casserole on Oscar's plate. Oscar squirmed and looked away, but continued eating once Oz moved away from his plate. 

"Something you wanna say, kid?" Qrow said. _Thank you for getting the memo to casually interrogate the starving child._

Oscar ate another bite before nodding. "Do you know who hacked the CCT at the dance?"

"Not quite, but I think we're close. Would you mind speeding up our progress?" asked Oz, totally not completely bluffing about the investigation's progress.

Oscar considered it. "Cinder. You're looking for Cinder."

"So we've already met the person you've kept mentioning, we just didn't know it?"

"Seems that way. I only heard the story of what happened after the Fall. I don't know how you guys figured everything out, I was told the story with all the names intact after it all went down."

"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"I want to know about the last Fall maiden. Why is she being kept in a glass case?"

"The **last** Fall maiden? Who is the Fall maiden in the future?"

"Wait. Does Amber still have the fall maiden's powers? I thought Cinder took them long before this happened."

"Cinder stole the Fall maiden's power?"

"Has that really not happened yet? I'm so confused. I really thought she had attacked the Fall maiden and taken her powers much sooner than the dance."

"Cinder huh?" said Qrow, "what does she look like?"

"Short dark hair and a scarred left eye. Her left arm is Grimm. She's really scary."

"That matches the description of the woman who attacked Amber and I months ago. Any chance you know her friends?"

"Emerald and Mercury?"

"I don't know, maybe? Can you give a description?"

"Oh, right, sorry. Emerald's semblance creates illusions, she's got short green hair and tan skin. Mercury has silver hair and pale skin. Both younger than her."

"There's good chances that's who we're looking for then," Qrow smirked at Oz.

_Progress._

Oz took over the questioning. "Oscar, is there anything else we should know about them?"

"I'm not sure what else I should tell you right now. Is that all you know about Amber?"

"What else do you think we know about Amber?" _If he is working for Salem, he could be gathering information about Amber for Cinder, if that's even her real name. Why else would he keep bringing Amber up?_

"Well, if Amber's still alive, it may be possible to change some things still, maybe stop the worst of the Fall entirely."

"What is the Fall you keep mentioning?"

"Right! Yeah, of course, that hasn't happened yet. Duh. Yeah, that's what they ended up calling the attack on Beacon."

_Oh. Oh, that's bad._

_Salem's goon or my reincarnation from the future, it's probably true that there's a plan to make Beacon fall._

_Crud._

"When does the Fall happen?"

"The 40th Vytal tournament. Cinder and her team; Torchwick and Neo; the white fang; and an army of Grimm invade Beacon. A lot of innocent people died, and with the CCT tower down, there was no way to communicate what happened to the other kingdoms. Most of the surviving students migrated to the other academies if they didn't stay and fight. There was a lot of work left to do to get Beacon running again." Oscar shifted his weight, slowly eating another bite. His fork trembled just a little bit.

_What? A full-scale attack on Beacon this soon? Is he trying to make us paranoid or should we truly prepare for war?_

_Is Beacon truly the target, or is he taking our attention and troops away from the real targeted Kingdom?_

"If this is true, we need to prepare for an invasion," General Ironwood said. There was fire in his eyes. _Great, more military nonsense. Yay._

_I get that we're hearing him out, but shouldn't we stay cautious? This could still be a henchman. The real target could be a different kingdom._

_Concentrating troops here could be our demise._

* * *

Oscar shook his head. "That's what you guys did last time. With all due respect, it's a dumb idea to bring an army of robots to a fight when you know you've been hacked, general." Oscar kept his composure, knowing from experience that staying calm and honest was the only way to deal with the tin man.

It still didn't prevent his eminent desire to vanish from the room when the general looked at him menacingly, but at least he knew with certainty that he was right about the information he had. _Right?_

He watched the adults look at each other. _I just advised them to not bring an army to the war I'm telling them about. Either they think I'm working for Salem and am trying to lower their defense, or they now trust me completely for telling them the truth even though it makes me look bad. Love that._

Oz sent Ironwood a look, and the room was silent. _I think I just set them up for hours worth of debate about their course of action._

_I'm not sorry, both of them can make each other suffer._

_Jerks._

Glynda spoke up again, and Oscar was glad someone was attempting to diffuse the tension by breaking the quiet. "Do you know how Cinder got the rest of the Fall maiden's power? Did we try to transfer Amber's aura and it failed?"

"Transfer aura? I'm not sure what you mean. Like with the Penny Project?"

"Penny Project?" Glynda asked calmly, yet the tension in the room shifted drastically away from calming down.

Oscar watched the two political figures switch positions in their glare-off. Ironwood, who had been furious with the idea of not bringing his massive militia to the war threatened area, suddenly backed off. Oz noticed and moved in on the other man's sudden panic. _This is intense._

"Is Penny not built yet? I really thought she had been but maybe not?" Oscar went for a light tone, but the impact was menial. 

Both politicians didn't speak, just continued their angry glances at each other. _Oz had such respect for the general in the future. What happened? Did he not tell Oz about Penny?_

"An' here I was worried that I would be too drunk for this," Qrow 'muttered' and Oz shifted his scowl of disapproval towards Qrow for a mere moment before going back to reading Ironwood. Qrow chugged his water hopelessly pining for another buzz.

"I feel like I'm missing something here?" said Oscar. "I know you weren't happy with the whole Penny Project, but I didn't realize it had such a history of beef between you two." 

"What is the Penny Project and what does it do?" Oz asked.

"Was that to me or him?" Oscar said meekly. _Yep, he didn't tell him. For someone who told a boatload of people about Salem without consulting Oz, you'd think he'd be a more honest guy. This isn't even a strategic lie! Not mentioning Penny doesn't help anyone, but hurts trust! What are you doing, General?_

"Why don't you answer, Oscar?" Oz said, taking the pressure off of James as he forced a calm smile and aggressively ate a bite of casserole. He took his eyes off of the general and focused on Oscar, a smile practically photoshopped on his face.

"Rrright. Penny is the first synthetic human. A robot girl with a part of her creator's soul that she can then use to generate her own artificial aura. She's super kind and high energy, you really wouldn't know how powerful she is just by looking at her. She kicks butt."

"Synthetic human?" Oscar could hear the poison drip from Ozpin's voice. _I am so glad I had nothing to do with this. This lie, for once, has nothing to do with me or the voices n my head. Thank goodness._

Ironwood spoke with a raised volume and clenched fists, "you learned that from hacking us, didn't you?"

_Lolz, of **course** I'm still to blame for this getting out. Who was I to think that helping people learn the truth would get me off of the hot seat? Catching people in their lies and exposing them will always get me hurt._

_This is my curse- being the scapegoat for lying and for telling the truth. Let's just hope I don't get punched this time._

_People get too butthurt when I expose them for their own dumb choices._

"It became common knowledge after she got taken down in the tournament by someone with a magnetic semblance. When she was rebuilt after the Fall, I got to meet her. She is the official protector of Mantle." Oscar felt his face getting hot as Ironwood stared him down. "This is hard for me too, okay? I didn't know you hadn't told Oz about Penny yet"-

"Oscar." Oz's voice snapped Oscar into silence. "You're doing just fine. You're not in trouble for sharing what you know." 

_Oz is too good at calming me down. It's freaky._

_I wonder how much the way he treats me will change when he finds out about Jinn._

_Not when, if. He doesn't have to know._

Oscar stared into his food and went back to devouring the casserole. It was already getting cold in quite a few places.

"Is there really a Penny Project, James?" Oz asked.

The general sighed. "Yes. The Atlas military is in the final phases of testing a device that can protect itself with a soul," said the general. 

"Please don't talk about her like that," Oscar said, "she's a real girl with real feelings. She isn't an 'it.' She just has metal parts instead of squishy parts, that's all."

"She's a humanized weapon," Oz seethed. "You're giving weapons of mass destruction souls now? Why didn't you think to talk to me about this!"

"Because you don't understand the importance of what we're doing!" James barked, "You asked us to design something that would allow us to transfer Amber's soul into a new body and you're mad about a robot with an artificial aura? Talk about double standards."

"If you have a robot that you can give a soul to, why didn't you mention it? We've been trying to find a human participant in case we can't kill whoever stole Amber's magic and we have to try to pass on the magic to someone not trying to destroy the world, and you mean to tell me this whole time you had a robot that could accept someone's soul that you already know works?"

"We don't know if a robot could hold magic!"

"We don't know if a person can hold two auras! Having it fail to transfer to a robot is a lot less consequential than having the transfer fail and take down a good huntress with it. If it's going to fail and the thief takes the power, I'd rather her not take another good person down."

The two politicians keep on debating, but the sound began to fade into a ringing in Oscar's ears. Everything slowly glowed green and then faded back out.

There was snow everywhere, but he didn't feel cold. Penny was there, standing by this old woman who seemed to be unconscious. A ring glowed around Penny's eyes. 

_Penny became the winter maiden._

Oscar reached out to her, and the cold hit his chest quickly. There was a large crashing sound.

" **Oscar!** "

_Oz?_

Everything flickered green.

He was back at the table. Oz had a hand on the back of his shirt.

His glass cup was shattered, and the ice water that it had been containing was exploded on the front of his clothes. Glynda was already putting the pieces of the cup back together.

Oscar's head buzzed.

"Gentlemen, if I may," Oscar waited for attention to turn back to him. "I believe I have a solution. In the future, Penny became the winter maiden. Another synthetic body like her's could probably hold Amber's aura and magic. Now if you'll excuse me," Oscar stood up, "I'm going to go get changed."

Oscar tried not to stumble as he walked towards his temporary room, but the buzzing in his head made it hard to see.

He fell into the dresser.

His aura flared as the screeching in his head increased tenfold. Everything got dark.

* * *

Oz was **so ready** to go after General Ironwood without the kid present when he heard a loud thud. His head immediately was swarmed with bees and Oz closed his eyes to fight the onslaught of green light that attacked his face. 

"Oscar," he mumbled, pushing himself away from the table. He felt his legs wobble underneath him as the people around him became fuzzy.

* * *

Qrow suddenly felt much soberer than he wanted to be.

Glynda was quick to support Oz as he nearly stumbled into the china cabinet she had fixed mere hours ago.

"I got Oscar," Qrow said speeding ahead of the duo.

"Qrow, no," Glynda said. Her 'mother voice' had no effect (to no one's surprise- it was Qrow) and he sped off anyway. Glynda looked to Ironwood who excused himself to make a call.

By the time they made it down the hallway to Oscar's room, Qrow had managed to get the kid out of the wet shirt and into a new one. _Good thing I brought way more clothes than needed. This is the third or fourth thing he's worn today._

"I found Oscar passed out against the dresser. Seems like whatever got Oz drowsy got him too."

"Is he hurt?" Glynda got Oz propped up on the windowsill against the wall, using his cane for balance.

"Not that I can tell. You wanna look him over? I think his head hit the dresser, but I don't see any sign of injury other than the way he was laying when I got here."

Qrow moved to Oz, letting Glynda check up on the boy. "I don't see anything either. We'll have a better idea when he wakes up."

Oz spoke with a shaky voice, "help me sit by him?"

Qrow just picked him up and moved him the two feet from the windowsill onto the bed.

"I want to try something. Leave?"

The two younger huntsmen did not need to be told twice. 

* * *

Ozpin closed his eyes, trying to get Owen's attention.

_Owen, I know we're not alone but I could really use your advice right now._

_Ozpin, what do you want me to say,_ _man?_

_I don't know, you're the voice in my head who is supposed to give good advice!_

_I don't know! Obadiah made this look sooo_ _easy._

_Owen! I know you hate my mind-_

_Cause you're literally_ _insane-_

_But we are a team!_

_What do you think I know that I haven't told you yet?_

_If Oscar really is the next reincarnation of Ozma, do you think there's a way to connect with him mentally?_

_... and why would I know that?_

_Cause you're the voice in my head that's supposed to **try** these things._

_Gods you're worse than Obadiah. I have no idea! You're the smart one here!_

_What do you mean **I'm** the smart one? You're literally all brains!_

_See? That pun proves it! I am not clever enough to have come up with that!_

_At least I know I can't ever do a worse job than you're doing._

_Oh, just you wait and see. Once you get up here you realize just how little you know about anything. When you're in control, it's a lot harder to notice every stupid thing you do, but when all you ever do is watch..._

_Owen. Can. You. Try. To. Speak. To. Oscar._

_Don't. Wanna._

_Seriously?_

_Sounds_ _scary._

_You were taught to be a warrior by the freaking king of Vale himself. How are you this much of a scaredy-cat?_

_He always was there to help! Now we're all in your head, and I can't feel him because we're a unit._

_So some part of you_ **_is_ ** _brave enough to try? And some part of you_ **_is_ ** _ambitious enough to go for it?_

_And some part of me **is** a depressed alcoholic. _

_The entirety of you is a depressed alcoholic._

_**What**! I was referring back to the days of Othmar, the first to drink himself to death. Bet he wished he had figured out how to properly posses someone when he found out not only was this real but he was going to be in someone's brain forever. Seriously, it's like watching a super cringy movie that is wayyy to long and has no ending. I relied on Obediah too much to do everything and now I don't have what it takes to help you. I'm not letting you repeat my mistake- you're going to learn how to problem solve and handle bizarre crises._

_Feeling better after complaining?_

_Fine. I still think this is a bad idea._

_No, you have no idea what's going to happen. You don't think it's a bad idea, you're just lazy._

_And you're crazy but you don't see me calling you out for it._

_I got where I am today despite your attempts at ruining my life. You wanna come at me?_

_Okay Mr. Random idea generator, I'll give it a whirl._

_..._

_How do I connect with someone else's mind? Ya got instructions?_ _I have no idea how to do this._

_Noooooo, really? Couldn't tell._

_ LMAO. _

Ozpin sighed out loud to himself. 

_I've got an idea. Whenever he uses magic, I can sense it and stop it. What happens if I use magic first? Maybe he can wake up from it and counter it._

_See? I knew you were big brain._

_You have a better idea, don't you?_

_Oh come on, don't give me that! You know how much I love to challenge you. Besides, I think you're idea is better anyway._

_Why don't you ever just help me?_

_Because one day, that kid might be asking you that same question and you need to be clever enough to answer. You're a headmaster. You can problem-solve on your own. I'm just a memory database for you._

_B_ _ut this kid? If he really is the next reincarnation, he's going to need someone to talk him through everything. You need the confidence to believe in yourself and your ideas. This kid is going to need a full-time advisor, especially if he's in the middle of a war. As a child._

_You could always be my advisor too, ya know._

_Nah you don't need it. Besides, if you get smarter, you'll bring up the average IQ in here by quite a lot._

_I think I could suffer severe brain damage and still bring up the average IQ._

_Hardy har har. You want my advice? Drop the sarcasm and you might actually make a real friend._

_What? I thought we were friends._

_H o n e y , I am dead and in your head. You've never even had a girlfriend!_

_What if I'm gay? Huh? Ever thought about that?_

_..._ _I'm in your head and I can read every thought. You're really going with that?_

_Fair._

_You gonna do this or nah?_

_What if this goes wrong?_

_Can I remind you that this is your idea?_

_I have no idea what I'm doing!_

_You're the smart one here!_

_Fair._

_Ready?_

_Yeah._

_ Love you, Ozzi boi. _

_Love you too, Owen._

Ozpin took a deep breath, feeling the magic in his veins pulse through him. He carefully opened each dresser drawer and began to levitate its contents. As he lifted more and more items, he felt the buzz in his ears getting louder.

_It's working!_

_Stop acting surprised that your brain came up with something smart, nerd._

Ozpin snorted as he lifted the remaining objects.

_Now what?_

_What do you think?_

_The buzzing is getting louder! It's hard to think, just tell me!_

_If you can hear me clearly, then the thing stopping you from thinking clearly isn't the physical world, now is it? Maybe you're only limited by your own lack of faith in yourself?_

_Fine. Uhhh... usually Oscar breaks something. Maybe this isn't violent enough._

_Yeah, let's break stuff!_

_What should we break?_

_Ew, strategic breaking? Just go WOOOOOO and see what happens!_

_You're a bad influence._

_No, I'm a fun influence._

_You started a tradition of flinging children off of cliffs for school initiation!_

_Nooo. I thought it would be a funny way to make your mark as the new young headmaster. **You** thought it was a good enough idea to act on._

_You're in my head! I can't say no to you?_

_I dare you to throw the clothes at Oscar._

_What? No way! That's mean and... kind of destructive but with minimal damage..._

Without further hesitation, Ozpin proceeded to launch the clothing at Oscar.

_You're a legend, my guy._

* * *

Oscar felt something approaching him and the screaming in his head launched itself at it. His head dulled to an ache. He pulled himself awake.

"Welcome to the land of the living, Oscar Pine. How is your head?"

Oscar looked at Ozpin, who had a smirk on his face. There was clothing in a ring surrounding them.

"Did you just... throw clothes at me?"

"It does certainly appear that way."

_That's very much unlike the calm steady voice of Ozpin that I know, but then again, he hasn't died yet._

_How exactly does death change people?_

"Oscar," said Ozpin, "are you alright?"

"I think so."

"Alright. Let's go get the others, then."

"Can we not? I'm not sure I want to deal with them right now."

"Sure. Let me tell them you're alright."

"Okay."

Ozpin walked out of the room. Oscar looked at the mess of clothing scattered around the room.

_What the heck happened here?_

* * *

Ozpin was quick to shoo everyone out, promising to check Oscar for signs of a concussion before letting him fall asleep again. 

_Looks like now it's time for a fun night in! Please tell me we're going to finish the last episode of Cupcake Diaries tonight!_

_Oscar is our first priority right now, Owen._

_He might like it too! Besides, if he really has access to your past memories with his future brain, he should already know what happens!_

_And since the show is live aired tonight, there's practically no way he could already know the results ahead of time! A foolproof method of knowing he's a time traveler!_

_It doesn't clear up his intentions, but knowing he's not lying about being a time traveler will help drastically with figuring out what to do next. And we get to watch Cupcake Diaries!_

_Thanks, Owen._

_Of course bud._

_Now let's go persuade a child to watch a late-night TV show where they bake cupcakes!_

_It's almost like having a real family! Like you have a kid!_

_I like my bachelor lifestyle, mind you._

_If I wasn't here, you'd be incredibly lonely._

_If you weren't here, I don't think I would be here either._

_You need to have more faith in yourself. You're better at this than you think._

_Yeah yeah, I got it, stop with the self-depreciation and start with the self-appreciation. I know._

_I feel like I've been a good dad now. Thanks._

_You're not my dad._

_Can you name yours?_

_Not the point!_

_Obediah, the great King of Vale, had a passionate Fanus to give him a cause to fight for other than an obligation he was born into but never chose. A man born a prince but with the understanding of being a humble Fanus peasant protesting for equal rights. It made him a wise king. Not every ruler has such a deep understanding of peasant life._

_I had him to inspire me to take a stand against violence and negotiate things with peace and creativity. Unite the world with cleverness and love and not bloodshed. It led me to become a negotiator, helping people make deals and prevent further fighting after the great war._

_You have me. A father figure to help you love yourself and have faith that you can do anything you set your brilliant mind to. I spend most of my time figuring out how to convince you to believe you are capable of doing this._

_And I bet someday you'll be the teacher to a scared child who just needs help figuring out what's going on as the world around him goes to war._

_It's my job to fill the holes in your life and supply you with the best information possible. You needed a family, so you have me to love you to pieces until you learn to love yourself._

_This kid? He needs a teacher. Lucky him, he's got a headmaster in his head. I think unlike the rest of us, you're getting a head start. Which is good, it'll help you with that major self-doubt problem you have going on._

_You really think Oscar is who he says he is, don't you?_

_Don't you?_

_..._

_Thanks, Owen._

_What's it gonna take to get you to call me daddy?_

_That sounds sexual, Owen._

_We are bonded at the soul. Some would even say we're soul-mates!_

_Remind me again why we get along.?_

_Cause you've got daddy issues._

_Please stop._

_Fine. Love you Ozzi boi! And not in a creep way, more like in a I-wanna-possess-you-cause-you're-cool kinda way._

_Love you too, wierdo._

Oz pushed open the door to Oscar's room. Oscar was slowly picking up every item of clothing and folding it into organized piles on the bed.

_That's so cute! Just look at the little kid doing his chores!_

_Owen, I need to be present in conversation._

_Gotcha. Byeeeee!_

"Looks like you've been busy in here, Oscar."

"Well, you did make quite the mess."

"I think I'm going to watch some TV. Cupcake Diaries is on tonight."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, it's the finale."

A huge grin exploded across Oscar's face. "I can watch it live. This is going to be the best day ever! I'm going to be watching the greatest day in Cupcake Diaries' history live!"

Ozpin refrained from laughing at him. _He's very excited about this._

"Oscar, have you seen the show before? I didn't think you had ever watched TV when we were back in the hospital."

"Oh, I've never seen it myself. On the train ride to Haven, you used to show me your favorite scenes from Cupcake Diaries since you knew I liked to be in the kitchen and it kept me from driving you crazy with my anxiety. Leaving home was scary so you kept me distracted with cupcakes. I haven't made cupcakes in ages."

"Perhaps we'll get supplies to make cupcakes then."

"Seriously?"

"We are going shopping tomorrow. We need to get you your own clothes."

Oscar looked down at the baggy shirt that was passable as a dress. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Are you sure you can afford it though? I really am okay with this, even if it's not the most flattering."

"Don't worry about money."

Oscar shook his head. "I don't want to ask more of you than I already have. You're already feeding me and"-

"Oscar, I am the headmaster at one of the world's largest academies. I can afford to buy you some clothes and food and shelter and whatever else you need."

"If you're sure."

"Cupcake Diaries?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Oscar found himself on the couch watching the show with his eyes open and attentive for the first time. It was strange to see the intro roll with his eyes open.

He didn't want to blink and miss a single moment. 

"Is this the episode where Rachel makes the tree cupcake tower?"

"Why don't we just wait and find out?"

They had just read the first challenge when Oscar squealed with glee. "Omg, it is! This is the best episode to start with! Thanks, Oz. You really know how to make the first live watching of Cupcake Diaries special."

He curled up leaning his head on Oz's shoulder. Oz put his arm around him.

Oz found himself laughing when Oscar said the funny lines out loud with the bakers or when he got excited as his favorite parts were coming up, knowing that Oscar didn't realize the show was live and that he was totally spoiling the whole episode. 

_It's like watching something for the hundredth time, but this time feels more special because it's real and not just a memory. This is nice._

Oscar leaned into the warm embrace. _This is much better than the movies._

When the show ended, the excitement was quick to wear off. After one last medical check from Oz, he quickly went to bed and was out like a light.

* * *

Oz sat down on the side of his bed, pulling out paper to make the shopping plan for the next day.

_We're alone again, you can talk now._

_Yeah good. I need to rant. Like seriously, that kid was the definition of the word spoiler alert!_

_He did confirm he was a time traveler from the future._

_Yeah, but you could have stopped him after the first thing he said came true!_

_He was happy, I wasn't going to tell him. It was too sweet._

_Yeah, it was a really good episode. I can see why he got so excited. Really is a cute kid._

_Now with all of this confirmed, we need to double-check his intentions and move forward. If we can confirm that he is not one of Salem's goons from the future then I think we will be all set in the trust department._

_ Cupcake Diaries. Doubt they know they just drastically altered the world because they are live and memorable enough to use as a time travel check. _

_It's wild, isn't it?_

_Yes, it most certainly is. Sleep now?_

_Sleep now. Goodnight Owen._

_Sweet dreams, kid._

Oz set down the shopping list and clicked off his light. Tomorrow would be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed Ozpin is a very calm and logical guy in Oscar's head, always being inspirational and serious. Yet in the show when he is still his own man, he does a lot of things (like sending RWBY to Mount Glenn as first-years and launching students off of a cliff for initiation) that are very chaotic and high risk. 
> 
> This led me to assume the voice in Ozpin's head is very wild and gets him to just go for things that aren't natural to Ozpin himself, which is why a lot of the randomness to Oz's personality goes away when he becomes a voice in Oscar's head when he can no longer be influenced by the guy before him.
> 
> Essentially, all reincarnations have access to everyone's memories, but only the last person alive can actually speak to the current person. All of them "merge" because over time, the decisions you make will be influenced by the memories you have, and gaining memories with other people makes you more likely to do the things they would do. Oscar will never morph into Ozma, he will simply behave more like him over time because he will draw the same conclusions Ozma would have as he gains experience and understanding. Personalities don't merge- but they are influenced by memories and experienced. 
> 
> The only reason they use the term "merged" is that it is difficult to otherwise explain why the new reincarnation starts acting differently. Ozma isn't taking control, it's just that the new cursed person will start reacting as if they have experiences and knowledge they didn't have before. (Inheriting new happy memories of playing chess will make you more likely to want to play chess compared to before when you had never played the game. It's not you changing into Ozma, but you being influenced by the same upbringing as Ozma. Who you were before doesn't go away, it's just added to.)


	11. Shopping Spree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar is a mess.  
> Oz takes him out in public to go shopping and it's a grand ol' time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update things have been crazy. I'm hoping to go back to regular updates soon but things are still a bit rocky right now so we will see. Thanks to all of you who stuck around! :)
> 
> A quick reminder that italics and underlined is the voice inside someone's head.

Oscar woke up at 8 AM. Stretching, he mentally prepared himself for the day ahead. _It's about time to start getting up at normal morning hours._

Flicking on the lights, Oscar headed to the bathroom and washed up. _Dang, I look really tired._

Walking back out to his dresser, Oscar flipped through the clothes he had neatly folded and put away the night before. _I have to go out in public today. Good lord. I hope no one sees me._

_Maybe I can ask for my huntsmen gear?_

_Honestly, I don't want my new first impressions with these people to be bad, even if this is some sort of an alternate reality, and nothing matters._

_I don't have Jaune's swag to just strut any look thrown my way. I suppose I could fake it though._

_Maybe I could dress completely unrecognizable, that way if I run into these people again they won't know it's me._

_Is there a dress in here?_

_Oh, I am not doing that. Absolutely not._

_But I could play it off as why I need new clothes?_

_I am not wearing a dress. I'd look ridiculous!_

_Rumor has it Jaune did it._

_But I am not Jaune!_

Undecided, Oscar headed out to the dining room to find breakfast. 

Oz looked up at him. "Good morning! I thought I'd let you sleep in."

"Salutations!" Oscar said, falling back into his morning routine.

Oz looked at him quizzically. 

"Oh, uh, it was a thing back at Atlas. Good morning, Oz."

"I see. Oscar, when we're out shopping today, would it bother you too much to call me professor? I'm afraid people might think we have relations otherwise, and that could make things... complicated."

"Sure, professor." _That left a bad taste in my mouth._

"There's cereal in the upper cupboard to your left. Help yourself to whatever you can find," Oz turned his attention back to his laptop, taking a sip of coffee.

Oscar opened the cupboard. _Oh, I don't think I can reach that. Is climbing on the counters rude? Probably. If I try to use magic will things explode again?_

_Nah._

"Something the matter?"

_Oh no he caught me. Fiddlesticks._

Oscar turned to look at Oz slowly. _Technically I haven't done anything wrong yet._

Oz waited. _The patient bastard._

It took a moment for the pressure to sink in, "I can't reach the cereal."

"Oh! Forgive me." Oz was quick to get up and pass down the Pumpkin Pete's Marshmellow Flakes cereal box.

Oscar almost wanted to say 'the other cereal,' but decided it wasn't worth the fight. _Sugar for breakfast. Ruby would be proud._

"So. Uh. Shopping."

Oz looked up from his screen. 

"What am I wearing?"

Oz showed no expression but kept his eyes trained on Oscar. 

"I'm torn between my huntsmen gear and a dress. Trust me I don't know how I got there either."

"Oh! I didn't know. My apologies. Whatever you want to wear is fine."

Oscar could hear the judgment in Oz's voice. _Why must I say things out loud?_

"It's not like that, I'm not a crossdresser or anything, I just don't want people to recognize me?"

"Hm." The judgment intensified.

"Not that cross-dressing is bad or anything, it's just not me. Ya know?"

"Right."

Oscar huffed.

_Wearing a dress can't be more embarrassing than this. I look like a jerk right now!_

_Maybe I should wear it, just to make a statement that I need new clothes. Maybe I'll be so unlike myself it'll be easier to talk to **professor** Oz. Ozpin. _

_I need to work on that._

Oscar bit his tongue as he found milk in the fridge. He poured some into the bowl of sugar and went to find a spoon.

It was harder than it should have been. He settled on a fork.

_Here I am at 8 AM, eating soggy sugar with a fork. Yay me._

He sat a the table. Oz glanced up at him again before continuing his typing. The keys stopped clacking when he looked up again.

Oscar froze, a fork with a single piece of cereal balanced on it was raised halfway to his mouth. His jaw was wide open, but he snapped it shut.

They made eye contact. It lingered.

Oscar conceded. "I think Imma make toast."

The fork was placed back into his cereal bowl with a clack and his chair screeched against the floor as he stood up. Oz never took his eyes off of him.

Oscar felt the eyes on him as he popped a slice of bread in the toaster.

"Oscar."

Oscar whipped around. _Oh god, the eye contact._ Oscar felt himself sweat, feeling the heat permeate his face. 

"Are you alright?" Oz nodded his head to the fork in the abandoned bowl of sugar milk.

"I think I'm having a bad day."

"I see."

Oscar was thankful when the toaster popped an eternity later so he could break away from the stare. He could feel Oz's eyes staring into his soul.

Oscar sat back down at the table. He bit the corner of the bread.

"No butter?"

"I'm scared of your kitchen."

"May I?"

Oscar looked away, his vision not focused on anything. He held out the crunchy bread. "Help."

Oz grabbed the butter and a dull knife and brought it to the table. Oscar couldn't help but hear the sigh as Oz buttered his toast.

_I'm useless. Good lord, I can't even butter toast._

Oz put the butter away and Oscar was quick to consume the bread.

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that I have set up a meeting with the other headmasters. I think with your help we could catch some of Salem's pawns before they make their move."

"Oh, about that. Yeah, maybe let's not tell the other headmasters?" _If I didn't look like an asshole before... Good lords today needs to just stop. Can it just be a different day?_

_Like can I just go a few days into the future when all the explaining is over? That would be nice._

Oz sat back down and took a long drink of coffee.

"Yeah, let's say one of them kinda tried to kill me? Well, two of them actually. Still, Lionheart ends up working for Salem so that's a bad idea."

"Lionheart working for Salem?"

"Yeah. We found out after he sent his huntsmen on missions to slowly kill them off and then tried to kill us."

"Why didn't you mention this last night?"

"Uhhh..." Oscar didn't know. "Maybe there was a dead body in a glass coffin that was just chilling? Or like Ironwood shot me off a building? Or maybe that would be saying too much?"

"Right. Oscar, for this to work, you're going to need to tell me everything. You know that, right?"

"It's a lot to tell! Besides, some secrets are strategic. You taught me that."

"You don't keep secrets from your allies, Oscar."

Oscar let out a scoff, "you're one to talk, Professor Ozpin. You're one to talk."

"I'm sorry?"

"We may or may not have asked the lamp about your secrets. Let me just say, it wasn't a mere sentence or two. That was a wild ride."

"That was in the future, was it not?"

"From the way that Qrow decked me I'd disagree."

"Qrow... what?"

"So Ironwood shooting me off a building got no response, but Qrow punching me did? I don't think I get you."

"I think I've got too many questions."

"And I'll answer them, eventually. Right now, I think we need a strategy."

"Agreed. What do you actually eat for breakfast?"

"Not where I was going with this."

"It's a place to start. Clearly, your choice of a serving fork to eat cereal tells me you're not a cereal guy."

"Couldn't find a spoon."

"You didn't think to ask?"

"You want to ask you?"

Oz raised a brow.

"Agreed, dumb question. AnYwAy..."

"Breakfast?"

"Right, that's what we were discussing. It depends. I've made quite a lot of pancakes and waffles, but I don't mind cereal. Although last I remembered, sugar cubes didn't qualify as cereal."

"Right. I think I have what you need for a decent meal then. Would you like help making something?"

"Maybe just show me where to find things? Your kitchen is a hot mess."

"Of course."

* * *

Oz internally groaned. _Glynda, why must you rearrange my kitchen before I give a house tour?_

Oz proceeded to give the crappiest tour he's ever given, although Oscar didn't seem to mind. Gathering whatever he couldn't reach, Oscar decided to make pancakes.

Leaving Oz to finish his email (but mostly his coffee), Oz sat back down and left the kid to his own devices.

Getting to a decent stopping point in his morning work, Oz closed up the laptop and set it aside. _Kids need wayyy too much attention. Good gracious he is a mess._

Oscar put a pancake in front of him and sat back down with his own plate.

_At least he can cook. Even if he is an absolute mess in every other area, the kid knows how to work in the kitchen._

_Cereal with an oversized fork. Who am I kidding? Nowhere is safe from this one._

_I thought it was a good effort-_

_Shut up, Owen._

"So. When do I get to know about Lionheart?"

"Mhh." Oscar hummed in recognition as he finished chewing. "Maybe not such a heavy topic this early in the day?"

"Give me a better time and I'll hold you to it."

Oscar considered this as he cut up his pancake with the side of his fork. "Is anyone coming over? I think I'd rather tell you everything and then decide from there what to tell the others."

"Right. I do believe there will be some soldiers loitering during our outing, but besides that, I don't think there are any plans set in stone. What would you like to happen?"

"Full story tonight. Maybe after dinner? We can make popcorn and I'll tell you all about the wild adventures I've been on." Oscar gasped, excitedly. "We could make a blanket fort and make it a party!"

"Sounds like a deal."

"Until then, can you not tell anyone else about me being a time traveler or just existing in general? I don't think I'm ready to deal with all of that yet. I mean- I'm seriously considering disguising myself completely and just vanishing. Besides, until you know everything it may be best to let the future play out as if we had never met. That way I know what to do since things will be similar to last time."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Oh! And maybe keep up relations with Lionheart. For now. It may be our best strategy to get him to send over the same fake students as last time so we can trap them."

"Fake students?"

"More on that later."

"Right. Why don't you go get dressed and we'll head out when you're ready."

Oz watched the kid blush, the red hue highlighting the constellations of freckles on his nose. "What do I wear? Like do I go full disguise or just be normal?"

"Well, unless you want to be directed to women's clothing, I suppose a dress may not be your best strategy."

"Although, I do look good in pink."

"Do you?"

"You saw me in those pink PJs! I can slay when I wanna."

"Slay?"

"Oh, right sorry. You're old."

"Pardon me?"

"Just ignore it. Where's my gear?"

"I do believe it's in the closet hanging."

"I have a closet?"

"... yes?"

"Oh snap, okay. Uhh, yeah Imma do that then."

"Finish eating first."

"Oh! Right. Yeah." 

Oscar shoveled food in his mouth.

Oz sighed. _Today is going to be a long day._ "You're a mess, Oscar Pine."

"Sorry."

Oz looked down at his empty mug. _This may be a two-cup kind of day._

* * *

Oscar stepped out of the airship with Oz. The city was quite beautiful, brimming with life and hope. _Much better then Mantle._

Oz had discussed with him the list of items on his shopping list on the way over and it was far more items than necessary, but Oscar knew the older man was stubborn and there was no point in fighting it.

They walked into a handful of clothing places. Oscar selected a grand total of five items, two of which were pajamas sets and the other three just comfortable clothes to wear around the house.

Even though Ironwood's men were more than willing to carry the bags, Oscar insisted on holding them himself. 

"I think I'm good on clothes, what's next?"

"Oscar, I do believe you may want more clothes. This won't even fill a drawer."

"I'm good. I've done it before. No reason to spend all your money."

"I'm a headmaster, I can afford more than some hand me downs from thrift shops."

"Seriously O-Professor I am all set right here."

Ozpin sighed. "Oscar, I don't know what your life was like before coming to Beacon, but we are going to make sure you're well provided for."

Oscar knew that was a lie to maintain his cover story with the guards. _The academics don't provide you with anything. I mean, Haven was corrupted by Salem but Lionheart felt no obligation to help us and Qrow didn't find any bit of that odd. Atlas is built for the rich to do better than everyone else._ "I think you're just pitying me. There's no way Beacon normally just helps students like this."

* * *

Oz felt his stomach churn. "You don't think we normally take care of our students?"

"Yeah, no. You're definitely giving me special treatment. I'm having none of it. Bare minimum and stop. I don't need you to be my hero and rescue the poor farm boy." Oscar clutched the two bags to his chest.

 _Is this to keep up the act to the guards?_ _I know we're playing up the idea of a poor farmboy with a powerful and out of control semblance, but that doesn't mean he can't let me get him basic necessities._

_I don't think this is an act, Oz._

_But Owen, he can't actually think he can casually live off of a set of gear, 3 outfits, and 2 pajamas, can he?_

_The kid wanted to disguise himself this morning. I'd go for he's embarrassed that he needs help. He is clearly used to being an independent teenager and now he's suddenly living with an adult. This may be a bit of a lifestyle shock._

_Oh. That makes sense. Still, I don't think this is a good idea._

_Well yeah. Unless we're washing clothes practically daily or dousing him in deodorant he needs more clothes._

_I suppose I could get him a few Beacon uniforms. We do always provide 8 full sets of the uniform to each student for free to avoid this issue. It wouldn't be hard and if he doesn't want to wear the uniform it would force him to let me buy him clothes._

_Sounds good. You gonna tell him?_

_I think I'll just submit the order. They're usually pretty fast about delivery._

_Sounds like you've got this handled._

_There's just got to be a way to make him more comfortable. If he's going to get upset and keep track of how much I've spent this is going to be much more difficult than necessary._

_I'm sure you'll think of something._

They went to a convince store, picking up toiletries.

"They've got some dorm decorations here. Would you like to get anything fun for your room? Add your own touch?"

"No thank you."

Oz caught Oscar's eye drifting to one of the wall posters. He almost grabbed it but decided not to force it. 

_Clearly, Oscar still needs to warm up to me._

_Not even Cupcake Diaries is strong enough anymore. Geez, what's it take these days?_

_Quiet, I'm socializing._

After paying at the register, Oz handed the bad to one of the guards who was happy to be useful. He ignored Oscar's scowl. 

"Can you take the bags back to my place, Justin? I think we're going to get lunch and then wrap up for the day."

"Yes sir."

Oscar begrudgingly handed the Atlas guard the bag. 

Oz noticed his posture straighten a bit when the weight was off of him.

_He must be tired._

_It's his own fault for not letting anyone else hold things._

_I think he's pretty damaged, Ozpin. Maybe find out what's on his mind at lunch? I think we are missing something here. He seems more grumbly than usual. His moods swing but don't you think his silence is lasting a bit longer than normal? He was acting completely different at breakfast._

_Maybe he just prefers the comfort of home._ _We barely know him, this could be normal._

_He's calm and quiet like at the hospital, but you saw him last night. He was having so much fun! I thought he was looking forward to this. Maybe he's torn up about something. So far every time he is happy he gets chatty and when he is quiet he gets all dark and serious._

_Something shifted in him when we left the house and we need to know what that is._

_Right. I still think it could be just the stress from leaving the house for the first time but you may be right. Let's see if we can figure out what's going on._

"Oscar, what would you like to have for lunch? I can name a few places if you're not sure."

"Why don't you pick?"

"I'd like to treat you."

"Can you not?"

_ Offer pizza. _

"Do you like pizza?"

"Sure."

"Alright then."

The walk to the nearest pizza place was quiet.

_You're right. He's never been this short. Normally when he's upset he starts rambling. This is odd._

_Told ya so._

They were seated outside, the guards all at nearby tables. Oz waited until after they had ordered food to try to start a conversation. 

"What's on your mind, Oscar?" _Forward much?_ "It's just, you seem lost in thought this morning," Oz was quick to add. 

_ So smooth. _

"The atmosphere is different here. That's all. I've never been to Vale before."

"Ah. What's different about it?"

"It's almost like the air is a different color."

_ Ok that's odd. _

_Quiet now._

"What color might the air be?"

"It's green. Like my aura color green. And that road looks like it's.... I'm going insane."

There was a far off look in Oscar's eyes. Oz noticed the slightest tremble in Oscar's hand.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance? I am a professor you know."

Oscar snapped out of it. "Right. You would know what this is. I feel like I need to be there." Oscar pointed to the center of town square. "I feel like I need to stand there and investigate. It's like the road there is golden? But when I blink again... it stops."

_Okay you can start talking now. Is this magic?_

_I don't think so? I've never heard of anything like it._

"It might be your semblance."

"What is my semblance?"

"I'm not sure. What has it done so far?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, then it seems we've hit a predicament."

"Can we go there? After eating, of course."

"If you'd like to stand in the middle of the town square, then by all means let's do it."

There was visible relief in Oscar's face as he began to squirm around as he had the night before. 

"There's a lot of birds in Vale that I've never seen before." Oscar proceeded to go off on the little things he had spotted on their outing so far. 

Oz just smiled softly and let him. _Well, he seems more comfortable now. Perhaps I'll propose a second round of clothes and shoes shopping after visiting town square._

_So it's a good thing to note, when he wants to say something but doesn't know how to explain it he gets short. Interesting._

* * *

Oscar practically skipped down the golden brick road, watching the colors flicker around him. Little swirls of green with a soft yellow glow. A splotch of red. 

_Wait._

Oscar stopped on the sidewalk, squatting down on the brick. It was cracked and shifted out of place. He ran two fingers across it. _No it isn't._

_Just great, this happy little rainbow around me is just another nightmare._

The closer to town square he got, the more frequent the whips of red wind. 

A black spiral spun past him. One of the shop's windows cracked. The wall dented.

There was a crater in the sidewalk before them. Oscar forced Oz to walk around the invisible disaster.

The spot fixed itself as they passed. Oscar stopped to stare at it.

A purple balloon floated away.

Oscar grabbed Oz's hand to keep him from walking into the approaching parade float.

* * *

Oz blinked, feeling Oscar grab his hand. 

_What in the world is going on with him? Is he hallucinating? he keeps looking around like there's something there._

_Should I be encouraging "green air?"_

A parade float went by. All the building shifted paint colors.

_Am I hallucinating?_

In the town square, there was a man, giving a speech from on top of a platform.

_Is that... me?_

_Oh my goodness it does look like you! Little you giving your acceptance speech to the city as new headmaster! There were so many speeches. Remember how nervous you were?_

_Owen, stop reminiscing for a second. Why are we seeing young me? This isn't my memory._

Oscar let go of Oz's hand.

Oz blinked. In a flash of green the city morphed back into normal.

Oscar ran towards the road, panicked. 

_Car!_

Before Oz could open his mouth to call out to him, Oscar had **phased through the car like it wasn't there.** He continued to run as he faded into a green light. 

_ Okay, what just happened? _

_We need to find Oscar._

Oz darted across the road after the car had passed. Oz stood in the middle of the town square looking around frantically.

"Oscar!" He called out. 

The Atlas guards began to make calls.

* * *

Oscar couldn't escape the Grim that was chasing him. 

He felt for Long Memory, knowing full well it wasn't there.

There was nowhere to run. The roads were lined with Grimm. They surrounded the square.

The Grimm struck him. A splash of his own blood hit the bricked pathway.

A man gave a speech on a platform.

A train crashed through where he stood, flickering him out of existence like a hologram turned off.

Red rose petals in the sky.

"Ruby!"

Oscar ran towards the red petals.

A young Ruby Rose stood before him, eyes shining, dark skirt fluttering, scythe swinging. 

She killed the Grimm chasing him in a single shot.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you fighting?" She called out to him, noting his huntsmen gear.

"I can't find my weapon. I think I got hit in the head. Everything's fuzzy."

Understanding, she raced over to him. "I think I can get you to the roof. It'll be easier for the medical team to pick you up there."

Oscar nodded helplessly. She scooped him up, running him upstairs and onto the nearest roof.

There was a strong buzzing in Oscar's brain.

**OSCAR**

"Hold on, someone's calling me."

"Huh?" Ruby set him down on the roof, worried.

* * *

Oz saw a green light on top of a rooftop.

"Up there!" Oz called out, running towards it.

_So the kid really can teleport._

_And make us hallucinate._

_This is kind of fun._

_Not really._

_Come on, where's your sense of adventure?_

_It's meeting with my sense of panic and taking command from my sense of urgency. Its busy._

Oz was the first one to Oscar. When he touched him, he looked saw a part of what looked like a train emerged from the center of the town square. Like the train had somehow driven up through the ground. There were Grimm surrounding the train.

He looked up at the sky to see more Grimm circling. 

Silver eyes. 

In a flicker of green, it all vanished. 

Oscar was injured. Atlesian guards were quick to get a medical ship onto the roof to start treating Oscar.

_At least he reappeared on the roof. Much more convenient for the medical ships to swoop in._

Oz went on the medical ship with the guards, ignoring their profuse apologies for losing sight of the child. Oz wasn't mad. He had never expected them to be useful anyway.

He assured them that their efficiency in calling the medical ship was good enough before he sat down to think.

_What did I just see?_

_Was that the Fall he keeps referring to?_

* * *

Qrow wrote a note in team RWBY's dorm room. He had put away the borrowed clothes (that he didn't think to wash until he started putting them into the kid's drawers. Whoops).

It read:

> Ruby, 
> 
> I'm sorry for borrowing your clothes like this but you were gone and we needed supplies for someone your height. I snuck a picture of the kid in your pink pajamas, which he procceed to shred somehow. (long story, wierd semblance, things got crazy) I'll get ya new ones.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you girls had a fun time at Mount Glenn. Thanks for doing me a favor without your permission. If you have any questions, ask JNPR.
> 
> I'll be in town for a while if you need anything. 
> 
> Love you girls,
> 
> Uncle Qrow

He dated the note and left it on the dresser where she was sure to see it. 

He then went on to return the remaining items to team JNPR, the only other huntsmen team he knew well enough to ask such a bizarre favor. He knocked on the door to their dorm. Jaune opened it. Qrow held out the pile sheepishly. 

"Thanks again for lending me some clothes. We finally got to take him shopping today."

Nora exploded in the background. "Is my shirt back?"

"Yep," Jaune replied.

Qrow let the whirlwind of energy yank the pile from his hands. 

"Glad to help. Are you staying until they get back? I'm sure they'd love to see you."

"Yeah, I plan to."

"So, you got that payment? Ya know, for letting you into team RWBY's room and giving you permission on their behalf to take Ruby's stuff? "

Qrow smirked. "Duh. Get your scrolls out and get ready for some embarrassing pictures of my two nieces."

"I'm still not sure why we are getting something for this. I'm sure they would have gladly lent you things if they were here," said Ren, not moving from the bed.

"I'm sure Qrow is just happy to give his nieces a hard time, Ren. Some uncles are like that," Pyrahh replied.

"I don't care, FREE BLACKMAIL!" Nora exclaimed, practically tackling Jaune at the door who just smiled sheepishly.

_They're good kids. I'm glad my nieces are making good friends._


	12. Crashing the White Fang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar does the thing again and vanishes. Oz doesn't like this. The White Fang doesn't really like it either, but Oscar is a sweet child that no one can really hate. Right?
> 
> Oscar starts to play with the colored whisps in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger Warning:**  
>  -Death mentioned (it is a scene from the show. Still sad though.)  
> -Suicidal/dark thoughts (they don't last, but they are present)
> 
>  **News!**  
>  I started a Tumblr.  
> I have never used Tumblr before so come by and watch me fail to figure it out lol.  
> http://idance2silence.tumblr.com/

The same thoughts kept cycling in Oz's head.

_What did I see?_

_Was that the Fall he keeps referring to?_

General Ironwood was pacing around the tiny bedroom. Oz watched him, not truly paying attention to his march. Anything was better than watching Oscar's chest rise and fall, captured in a deep sleep. The doctors were unsure what to make of it. _Is he dreaming or is he just blacked out?_

_Is he remembering the Fall?_

_What did he show me?_

_Was that our fate? Was that the end?_

The first few hours after Oscar had seemingly teleported, there were many medical exams. The results were always bizarre and inconclusive. Like every measuring device just jumbled up like spaghetti. Things kept vanishing, and reappearing moments later, like the flickering twinkles of string lights.

And it made no sense. It's like his memory of where objects were was just flipping on and off and medical machines just beeped randomly: but it seemed to affect everyone so it must have been actually happening. All the science jargon felt like a bunch of random syllables. It was like watching a sci-fi movie, all the explanations and long words felt fake. It was a headache. _I must just be very tired. It's like I'm surrounded by muppets._ His head buzzed.

By eight that night, Oz sent home everyone who remained with him, the general included. He had thrown a fit, but Oz was too tired of hearing him pace to care.

At nine that night, Qrow had flown by. Oz almost shooed him off when Qrow held out a bag of take-out food, sitting quietly with him as they ate.

By ten that night, Oz had made popcorn, silently munching, wishing the room was full of the sound of Oscar's voice as he told him all of his adventures. And explained Lionheart. And the transfer students. And whatever that vision was. The popcorn tasted wrong.

At eleven that night, Oz decided to get ready for bed. Owen's insistence to rest had gotten too strong.

By midnight, Oz had fallen asleep.

At two-thirty-seven the next morning, Oz woke up to an empty bed.

By two-thirty-eight Oz was on the phone with multiple very important people, getting help because Oscar was gone.

* * *

Oscar felt a buzz in his head. There was something white, floating through the air. He grabbed it. When he let go, his fingers were a new color, like they had been dipped in chalk. He grabbed the tail of the whisp again, painting the air. 

He drew little squiggles, watching the little white whisp dance across the air.

He created a small loop, and the light changed as it passed through it. _Strange._ Oscar painted a larger loop. 

There were fanus inside the loop. It was dark, and it was like there was an invisible string pulling him through the portal. He passed through.

It was significantly colder. There was yelling. Oscar squinted through the dim light. There was constant movement around him.

"Hey!" A man with fox ears looked at him. _He doesn't seem happy._ "What are you doing?"

"Sorry," Oscar croaked out.

**LIE.**

It was like a subconscious force, rolling through his chest. There was no voice to the word. _He has a gun._

"I lose control of my semblance sometimes. It makes everything go fuzzy. I can't really remember what I was just doing."

 _I hate lying. But I hate getting shot more and you have a gun._

"Oh. And the outfit?"

_He's wearing a white fang uniform. What did I just walk into? Did I just walk onto a White Fang base?_

_Oh lords, what year is it?_

"Uhh, I was thinking of becoming a spy so I'm practicing. You know, a guy like me who is constantly confused and disoriented, they'd let their guard down around me. People like to help the unhelpable."

"Until you get emotional and they see that you're a chameleon, freckles."

_He thinks I'm a fanus. That worked out nicely for me. These freckles are my saving grace._

"I'm quite good at faking human sir. I infiltrated one of their schools not too long ago."

"Really? Who sent **you** on a mission?"

"No one sir, I did it just to test myself."

"Right. Well freckles, I'm going to need you to wear a uniform. Not everyone here is going to pick up on that."

"Of course, sir. My apologies, I can get a bit overeager to try things sometimes."

"Does your mommy know you're here, kid?" The fanus was now in close enough distance to strike. _He's very tall._

"No, sir. She's... gone, sir."

"Ah. Yeah, that explains it. Come on kid, let's get you fixed up. What's your name?"

"Call me... Striker."

"Striker? I don't believe that."

"My brains a bit fuzzy. I'm not sure I could honestly tell you my name and be certain it's mine." _Close enough to the truth._

The fanus man frowned at him. "Do you know who I am?"

"Right now? No. I do hope it comes back to me. We have met, right?"

The man got down on his knee, one hand holding Oscar's shoulder and the other on Oscar's head. "Does your head hurt at all? I think you may be injured. What's the last thing you remember?"

Oscar hesitated. _What do I say to that?_

"I remember a grim. Ursa, I think? And a train... I think I'm losing it."

"We need to get you to the medical bay. If you really are a scout disguised as a human, you must have gotten into a nasty Grimm fight. But then how did you get here? If someone found you, they would have taken you to medical..."

"I can teleport. Kinda. It doesn't really work well. Or at all. I remember a broken rooftop..."

The man eyed him over. "Come on, I'm taking you to medical."

With an arm around Oscar's back, the man led him towards a better lit area.

_Is that a train? Where are we? It feels like we're in a tunnel. But if we're in a train tunnel, why is it stopped?_

"Sir," Oscar said, still taking in the sights, "can I ask you your name? I feel bad not knowing it."

"I'm Alarik."

"I'll do my best to remember that, Alarik."

"It's alright if you don't Striker," Alarik ruffled Oscar's hair gently, and the boy instinctively leaned into the touch. Alarik just smiled.

They arrived at the medical tent, and Alarik spoke with one of the people on the team. Oscar just followed orders and sat down on one of the cushions. 

The snake fanus checked for signs of head trauma, concerned with his lack of findings. 

Alarik arrived with a set of the white fang uniform but was pulled aside by the medic as he entered.

Oscar heard the medic whisper to Alarik, "are you sure he's not a human spy trying to get information on us?" and Oscar knew it was time to go. There was a purple swirl in the air and Oscar reached for it.

He painted a loop in the air. Alarik and the medic rushed over to him. Oscar only hoped they couldn't see what he was seeing.

Inside the loop was a fanus, who he recognized from Blake and Yang's descriptions as Adam Taurus, standing over the dead body of a young fanus woman. He pushed the purple in the air closed, sealing away the loop. His hands were purple. It was strange. Oscar bit his tongue. He'd much rather be here, than wherever that was. _Why do I keep seeing dead people?_

"Sienna?" Oscar heard Alarik say. 

Oscar felt his hands shake, the purple drops slipping down his arms. _They saw that. I don't know what I just showed them, but they saw that._

_I'm going to get shot._

Oscar started crying. There was a buzzing in his head, and it felt like his eyes were going to vibrate right out of his face. 

* * *

Alarik watched the purple marks on Oscar's hands turn from a royal purple to an icy blue, before fading into his skin.

_He is the weirdest chameleon fanus I have ever seen. What even was that?_

Oscar mumbled, "I don't think I'm supposed to be **here** , but I don't want to be **there**. I don't want to be **anywhere** anymore."

 _Oh lords, he's crying._ Alarik kneeled onto the cushion, pulling Oscar into a tight hug.

"It can be hard to find the desire to be in a world that doesn't accept you, but there are always people that will. Like your brothers and sisters here. We're fighting for a better tomorrow. We are in this together. We want you here. You're right where you need to be."

"If you understood who I am and what I can do, you won't want me anymore. No one on this planet ever will. I don't even want me."

"I don't know you well, but I assure you, your brothers and sisters in the White Fang want you here. We have the same cause."

"Do we really? You're fighting to destroy humanity."

"We're fighting to build a better world."

"In order to build a new world, you have to destroy the current one. I can't say I want that."

"We will do whatever it takes to be accepted."

"You can't be accepted if there's no one left to accept you."

"You are far too young to understand."

"No, Alarik. I'm afraid I'm far too old."

Alarik looked over to the medic. "Why don't you get our leader?"

The snake fanus made no hesitation to leave.

"Alarik, you have no idea what you're doing to humanity. Don't help anyone divide us. That is how the world ends."

"You're delirious, child. Let's get on your uniform before the boss comes in and takes a look at you. Then you can rest."

Oscar got changed into the White Fang uniform behind a curtain and sat back down on the medical bed.

Alarik pulled Oscar close to him, mainly to keep him from opening a portal and teleporting away. Perhaps later he would investigate whatever was going on with Adam and Sienna, but for right now, he needed to take care of the frantic fanus before him.

He put the mask on Oscar's face. _The boss won't want to see a fanus crying._

* * *

Oscar felt his entire body shock like lightning at the sight of the black hat with the red band. He was suddenly grateful for the facemask.

_Neo._

"Alright kid," Torchwick said, "what's the problem?"

 _Neo... is a guy? And he talks?_ _Woah, he is really good with disguises._

"Well?"

"We think he was one of the operatives sent to Beacon when he sustained a head injury," said Alarik.

"Except I couldn't find any sign of head injury," continued the medic.

"Huh. Well, he certainly isn't one of our spies, he's just a dumb lying kid trying to get out of work. You want a head injury?" Roman Torchwick thwapped Oscar on the head with his cane. "There! Head injury. Can I go now?"

Both fanus were speechless. Oscar bit back the tears as the buzz in his head went from busy beehive to very angry and aggressive beehive. His heartbeat throbbed in his head.

"Alright. Don't bother me with such trivial crap again. If he tries this again, just shoot em, alright? Geez, you freaks are dumb."

It was silence as Oscar felt hot tears stream down his face. He retreated further into the arms of Alarik. _Neo is scary. But if I throw a fit now, I will most certainly lose without backup. I hate being small._

"Well, you heard the boss. He's a lying kid. Get back to work."

Alarik pulled Oscar closer to his chest. "I don't know, Chester, don't you think that was unnecessary?"

"Well, the kid shouldn't have lied to get out of work!"

"Are you sure that's what happened? I mean, what about that... portal thing he did."

"What are you suggesting?"

"I don't know, Chester. He's just a kid, he clearly just wants attention."

"Then don't give him any!"

Oscar chimed in, "if this is how you treat fellow fanus, then I worry for how much progress for fanus-kind you would actually make if you could run the government. If that's the kind of man in charge now, I can't imagine the monster that would be in charge if you had it your way."

Alarik let go of Oscar, pushing him away from his hold. "You're a real idiot if you think you think of your own kind this way."

"Ironic." Oscar rolled out from under Alarik, dodging the medic as he ran from the tent.

"Hey!" Alarik was quick to chase him. "Somebody stop that fanus!"

Oscar's head pulsed with every step as he darted through the working members of the white fang.

He ran towards a train. He saw a rose petal in the distance and lunged for it. He painted a loop with it, falling through the hole.

It was bright now, and below him was a forest.

_Where am I?_

He reached out to a yellow streak, grabbing it. He fell through a new hole. 

Below him was nothing but ice, ice for miles. _Is that a Grimm?_

Oscar reached for the green air, seeing a bed.

_How bad can that be?_

He leaned towards it.

It felt like the bed had snapped beneath him as the pillows smacked him into reality, pressing the mask into his face. 

**Beacon.**

He walks out of the empty dorm room, looking down the hall, taking the mask off. _It feels like my legs are jello. What did I just do? What's going on?_

_What nightmare did I just wake up?_

As Oscar walked down the hall, he looked back at the room. 

_Room 2-101. Why does that feel familiar?_

* * *

It had been two days now since Oscar had gone missing. Oz had rescheduled his meeting with the other headmasters, postponing it as much as he could. 

_Oscar, where are you?_

Oz had gone back to Beacon Academy for the afternoon, leaving someone else to guard the house. Some low-level huntsmen he recognized, but it was fuzzy. _Stress must be getting to my brain. Names are eluding me. It feels like I haven't seen any of these people in years, but I know that's not true. It's like my memory is shot._

_What an afternoon._

He had met with a few students, many about the progress of their missions. It felt wrong to be here. Like he wasn't supposed to be on campus.

But going home to the empty house felt worse so he stayed.

Glynda had made an effort to check on him. Constantly.

_I guess it's better than being alone with my thoughts._

_ You've got the best teammates.  _

_That I do._

"Professor Ozpin?"

At the sound of Jaune Arc's voice, Oz felt a surge in his brain, like it was a bucket full of water and it got tipped. But no memories spilled into his consciousness.

"Mr. Arc. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, our team is leaving for our first big mission and I uh... was hoping for some advice?" Jaune rubbed the back of his neck, shifting his eyes to the ground.

"Mr. Arc, what advice are you hoping to receive?"

"I don't know, you're the headmaster."

Oz smiled. "Well in that case, just keep going. You're doing just fine."

"You really think so?"

Oz could hear the click of high heels. "I do. Will that be all, Mr. Arc?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah. Thanks! Sir."

Oz nodded and turned on his heels.

"Ozpin! I've been looking for you," Glynda said from down the hall.

Oz could feel Jaune's eyes on him, lingering curiously. _I don't suppose I can just shoo him._

"Glynda. What can I help you with?"

"We got a security notice. There's a white fang member in the designated section dorm building. One of the staff members preparing the rooms saw him, but the description..."

Oz tried to read her expression.

"We're not sure Oz, the description was... off. I think it's best you handle this personally."

"Right. I'm on my way. Thank you for letting me know."

_They think it's Oscar, so they didn't alert security. But couldn't Oscar have been escorted from security to me? I do control security._

_A bit strange, but that is most of what I do here so what can I really do about it? Perhaps they fear his magic?_

_Seriously though, why didn't they just call me? It's like everyone suddenly forgot security protocols!_

Oz could feel Jaune following him as he power walked towards the dorm building.

_I bet he's contacting his team._ _They might think we're under attack by the white fang. This should be fun._

Oz had to resist the urge to speed up. It was odd to have a tail, know about the said tail, be able to destroy said tail in a fight with ease, and still not shake said tail. To not panic Mr. Arc, he would have to keep a steady pace.

Oz hated being followed. It was like playing a video game, except the playable character's walking and running speeds were not equal to the non-playable character they were escorting. And he didn't even **want** to be escorting Jaune.

But that was not the point. A curious student had decided this was a fun thing to do and Oz would have to go along with it.

_Being headmaster is just so fun sometimes._

* * *

Oscar heard footsteps approaching quickly and ducked into the nearest open room. He had played the 'don't get caught' game back in Atlas. He had lost quite miserably, but that was not the point.

It was like his senses were dialed up to eleven. He could feel someone down the hall. He ducked into a crouch.

_I need a weapon._

Oscar grabbed a nearby bucket, likely left behind by a cleaning crew member.

_Not a great weapon, but it will do._

The footsteps in the hallway approached quickly.

Oscar looked at the mask he had clipped to his belt.

_Should I?_

_I mean, it would put me in a battle mode mindset._

_But what if they're friendly?_

_Hmmm._

_Yeah, let's not._

_But I could always take it off..._

_Maybe start with it on and if I recognize them take it off?_

_Yeah. That will work. If they recognize me through the mask they won't attack._

Oscar put back on the mask and readied himself for battle.

_Imma take you out with a bucket. Get ready to get cleaned off the battlefield cause you're dirt next to me._

Oscar stole a glance. 

_That's a lot of legs. Must be a lot of people._

_And I've only got a bucket. Please tell me they're friendly._

* * *

Oz noticed the ajar door, restraining a giggle when he watched Oscar steal a glance down the hall in real-time. 

_If that really is a white fang member, I'm going to be greatly disappointed. They usually have decent standards for hire for infiltration missions like this._

Deciding he would rather make sure it was Oscar before calling out to him, Oz practically stomped up to the door to minimize spookage. _The kid is rather jumpy._

The masked child leaped out the door, bucket in full swing.

_Seriously, Oscar? You have magic that can explode the room, yet you went with a bucket?_

_I need to get on those magic lessons. It's just sad._

Oz heard the clink of metal on metal.

_Team JNPR you better not be doing what I think you're doing._

The metal bucket in Oscar's hand froze mid-swing.

_Do you really not believe I can dodge that, Pyrrha? It's a child fighting the headmaster with a bucket!_

Even though the mask, Oz could see Oscar's eyes flash open.

_Oh great. You spooked him._

_Now we have to calm him down before he explodes the place._

_These kids are going to be the end of me._

_And to think I missed this for the past two days._

Oz heard the footsteps of Ren running towards them, Nora hot on his heels. 

_Do I tell them to stop? How do I explain this?_

"Nora!" Oscar exclaimed, pushing past Ozpin and running towards her.

Oz turned around to watch. _This should be amusing._

"Huh?" Nora and Ren stopped running.

Oscar flung his arms around her in a hug.

"Mr. Pine, don't you think you should introduce yourself first?" Oz smirked.

Nora, who looked ready to yeet the child, looked relieved when Oscar jumped back from her. 

"Sorry," Oscar blushed a bright pink.

"Who are you?" Ren asked, weapons still in hand.

Oscar took off the white fang mask and looked at Ren curiously. 

"Oscar, they're not going to remember you. Your semblance?"

"Right. Sorry. I got excited."

"I see."

Jaune and Pyrrha stood up from their hiding spot behind some large decorative plants. 

_It's almost always comical with these kids._

Excitement flickered on Oscar's face before his eyes dimmed. "They don't remember me," he whispered to himself.

Oz walked over to Oscar, ignoring how he flinched when he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Think of it as new beginnings. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Oscar brushed the hand away, "I don't want to." He reached into the air and it was like blood had splashed on him. Oz grabbed his arm, pulling it away from whatever had caused him to suddenly bleed like that. Oscar shrieked.

It was like a tornado had blown the living quarters into itself. Oz was quick to grab the magic and resist his explosion. Every moveable object in the hallway was floating. Oscar didn't last long, quickly falling unconscious. 

_His hand isn't red anymore. Strange._

Oz settled the room slowly.

"Professor?" Pyrrha's voice was shaky.

_Well, they just got their first look at magic. How delightful._

"I'm sure you all have questions, and I'm sure they're all valid, but right now I need to get him to the nurse." Oz squatted down to carry him.

"I've got him, professor," Pyrrha butted in.

"I can assure you, Miss Nikos, I'm still quite capable. I am a headmaster you know," Oz said, lifting Oscar with relative ease. "Although, I wouldn't mind you getting the door."

She blushed but ran to the door as anticipated. _Some people just need to feel helpful._

While loaded into the elevator, Oz looked at the group. "Perhaps once I get permission from the nurse, we can debrief. I wouldn't want this to distract you on your mission tomorrow."

"That would be great, thank you, Professor Ozpin. I'm sorry for following you, I was just"-

"Curious? It's okay, Mr. Arc. I knew you were there. I just hadn't anticipated you moving to act so quickly."

"But sir," Nora said, "he was attacking you!"

Oz sighed. "I understand my hair is grey, but I can assure you that a child with a bucket isn't really a threat to me." Oz shifted his weight, "but I do commend you for doing what you thought was best and trying to protect me. I can't fault you for that." 

The elevator opened. _Finally._ "We'll be in touch." Oz left team JNPR behind as he walked to the nurse.

The nurse was not helpful, as expected, but Ironwood's doctors were quick to arrive. _I do hope the kids aren't watching. This would be a lot to explain._

_How am I going to explain this?_

_What do I say to describe his semblance?_

Oz sat down and began to think. He had a lot of thinking left to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be irregular for a few weeks. Life picked up, sorry. I have every intention to finish though! I think I will try to update my new Tumblr as things come up. I have no real posts yet but hey, gotta start somewhere, right?


	13. A Lie So Good It Might Be True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oz comes up with a brilliant lie to tell team JNPR. But then he begins to believe it.
> 
> Also, team JNPR being cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your order of **existential crisis** with a side of **happy mom content** has arrived!

_How is it possible for anyone to truly know what is real? Or to know that you have never forgotten anything?_

_It's easy to assume we have all forgotten things in our lives. But it is practically impossible to know you have forgotten something unless you remember that you're **supposed** to remember something._

_You wouldn't know you were missing your keys until you try to open a lock. Now if the lock and the key went missing, would you ever truly know you had forgotten them? Not unless you remembered the thing that was locked up._

_Unless you need something you have forgotten how to access, can you ever really know how much you have forgotten?_

Oz looked out the large window, watching teenagers and young adults run around many many floors below him, scattered around the courtyard like ants. Oscar had been brought up on a rolling medical bed, with no instructions from the doctors other than to sleep it off. 

"Cameras," James had said. "He is staying somewhere where there are cameras."

With no other choice, Professor Ozpin had complied. 

_Memories change in time. Moments of thoughts long lost to the evergoing flow of information. With all of these memories, is it possible some are lost? Long gone to the depths of time?_

_It would be impossible to notice unless there was something I needed from them._

_But what? What information do I remember knowing, but seemingly don't anymore? Is it even possible to tell?_

A knock at the door. The professor clipped Long Memory to his belt, removing the kettle from the hotplate before opening the door.

"Good evening, team JNPR."

Nora's eyes glistened, "this is your office? It's so cool!" She didn't bother to resist running to the window and looking down at the world below her.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" Oz moved to the kettle, moving as fluidly as water. "I had someone grab some chairs so we could all sit. I must admit, most of my meetings these days are either virtual or, well, not held here. Very few people come to visit my office anymore. Can I interest anyone in tea?" Oz didn't wait for an answer, just poured the mugs and grabbed his variety box of teabags from an upper cabinet.

"Why are we meeting here and not in the usual meeting rooms, professor?" Jaune said.

_Ever the oblivious one. I do hope that improves with time._

"Why do you think, Mr. Arc?"

"This is private?"

Oz ignored Pyrrha as she elbowed Jaune and not-very-subtly pointed at the medical bed with an unconscious boy on top.

"Oh. Sorry. How is he?"

"Just in need of some rest."

Concern flicked in Ren's eyes, but his steady calm persisted. _Memory. Something about this brought back a memory._ Oz didn't push the subject but placed a mug in his hands. 

"Tea bags are on the counter."

Ren nodded, quickly looking away from the sleeping teenager. 

Oz took his own mug and a mint tea bag and sat down behind his desk.

Ren grabbed Nora's, getting team JNPR to settle on the foldup chairs around the headmaster's desk.

"Who is he?" Jaune asked softly.

"His name is Oscar Pine, although, I'm not sure you'll remember that next time you see him."

Team JNPR shared worried glances.

"We're still unsure exactly what his semblance is. Quite a few theories have been thrown around- a few as ridiculous as time travel. My current theory is that it has something to do with memory."

"Memory?" Asked Pyrrha.

"It seems like he remembers quite a few things. People, places, events. Things no one else can even recall happening. But what's most worrisome is that no one seems to remember him."

"People... forget him?" Pyrrha said, a hint of fear in her eyes.

"It does seem to be that way. But I think it's more powerful than that- I think he can make people forget how to use their own abilities. He's done quite a few things that always seem to match the semblances of those in the room with him. And every time something bizarre happens, where he gets attacked or left unconscious, I always get this powerful buzz in my head. While this theory is a work in progress, I do think it's a solid start."

Nora contemplated this. "So if he makes people forget things, do you remember him being a part of the white fang? Did he make you forget he is a criminal?" 

"Well, Miss Valkyrie, if he is a fanus, I have yet to be able to remember it. As far as anyone can remember, he is not medically a fanus."

"Then how was he wearing a white fang uniform?"

"Well, they simply may have forgotten to check. Either way, fanus or not, we can't seem to gather much on him."

"Professor, why are you telling us this?"

"To put it simply, Mr. Arc, I think it would benefit us greatly if someone else remembered him."

"Huh?"

"If he is just an innocent child with an out of control semblance, where no one's memories stay intact long enough to help him, having someone remember him may just give him the hope he needs to keep trying. Now, if he's not innocent and getting away with crimes... well it may be helpful to have people around who can speak up if all of the faculty suddenly forget he was ever here, or that he ever wore a white fang uniform. You may be the witnesses we need."

"Wait. He knew my name," said Nora, "have we met and I already forgot him?"

"I'm not sure, Miss. Valkyrie. He seems to think so. Whether that be a memory no one else remembers, or he truly can time travel, or something else." Oz sighed, taking a sip of his tea. "He may be a sweet child, but he is still quite dangerous. Be wary of him and his powers, we know not just how much damage he can do."

"In the hallway, everything looked like it was floating," said Ren. "How did he do that?"

"That would be my abilities, I'm afraid. Either he made me forget how to stay in control and my instincts kicked in, or nothing truly happened and we just remember it happening. Unless he did something else entirely, but that doesn't feel likely, now does it?"

Pyrrha looked over to Oscar. "No matter what the truth may be, professor, it sounds like a very sad life."

"It certainly does, Miss Nikos."

"How are we going to remember this? As much as I want to help sir, it seems he has used his semblance on us before..."

"Cameras. My office has cameras. I have been recording the cameras long before I started this meeting. No matter how we remember this meeting, you will leave here today with a flash drive of this recording. You may not remember the meeting or what is even on that flash drive. But you will have a mission, a desire to protect that flash drive from harm."

"Whatever you need, sir," Jaune pushed his shoulders back.

"You're going on a mission tomorrow, aren't you? Take the flash drive with you, and leave it there. I'll set a reminder on my scroll to send you back for it in a few months. It will be your job to retrieve it and see if anyone remembers this meeting any differently, or if the current recording in the system still matches."

"But sir, what if someone tampers with the flash drive?"

"I'm counting on your team to hide it well until you can go pick it up again. Any other questions?"

"No, sir."

Oz looked straight into the camera. "Be wary of Oscar Pine."

With the click of a button, the camera's light turned off. Oz ejected a thumb drive on his computer, placing it in a ziplock bag. He then handed out four separate flash drives in respective bags to team JNPR. "Hopefully, we are not outsmarted. I do believe this strategy will yield decently accurate results."

With a newfound seriousness, each of the huntsmen in training took their flash drive into a pocket and nodded in agreement. Oz clicked the cameras back on.

He went over to Oscar, running his fingers through the sweaty mat of hair on the teenager's head. 

"Is there anything else I can help your team with? I don't hope that anything from today makes you anxious for your first real mission."

There was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me." Oz opened it. "Oh, Matilda, I thought you guys weren't bringing those up until later."

"What can I say, sir? We're efficient!" Matilda flashed a smile at him. _Right._

"Well, I'm in a meeting right now, but if you must be early about it, go ahead and bring them in. There should be room against the back wall."

Oz went back to his desk, grabbing his mug.

Matilda and another female with a red bandana came in, carrying a mattress. 

"Wait, are you staying here tonight? Why not in one of the dorms?" Nora asked, watching the crew bring in a second mattress.

"My office has a good amount of cameras, one exit, and ample security. Besides, Oscar has needed medical attention quite frequently, and this room has good access to the medical room down the elevator. It's practical enough."

Nora made no further comment, but she clearly had more on her mind. Oz wasn't in the mood to get her to ask. _There's enough going on as it is._

Once the moving people had placed the beds and left, Ren broke the silence for her, "Professor Ozpin, where did he come from?"

"No one seems to know, Ren. His aunt reported him missing the first day she woke up and couldn't find him, but he seems to have memories of leaving her back at home that add up to months if not longer. The record shows he left as a farmhand in Mistral about a week ago. We found him here, at Beacon seemingly within an hour his aunt first lost sight of him. What's truly terrifying is that his aunt's description was of a younger, shorter boy with no ability to fight. Who we met was a powerful huntsman in training, who looked considerably older than her most recent picture."

"You think he made his aunt forget that he was missing until he got here?"

"He was knocked out when found by security. The sudden loss in concentration may have triggered him to lose his hold on her. My prediction is that she completely forgot that he existed. If that is what indeed happened, well, that is rather frightening."

"Why would he want his aunt to forget he existed?" Nora already feared for the answer.

"I'm not sure it was intentional. We got them on a video call, and she didn't seem to mind that he looked older. In fact, he seemed quite thrilled to see her and reminisce with her."

Pyrrha looked over at sleeping Oscar, "do you think he woke up one morning and she just... didn't recognize him?"

"It certainly does appear to have happened that way. He was rather quick to want to get her to stop seeing him, not wanting her to ever see him again. I'm afraid he knows what he did to her. I think he came to Beacon to get help."

"How do you plan to help him?" asked Jaune.

"I'm not sure. My biggest fear is that he has tried this before and it failed. I do find it rather concerning that he can name numerous people here, many who have no recognition of him."

"We want to help," Pyrrha looked back at Oz, eyes glittered with tiny tears forming at the corner. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Do your best on your mission tomorrow. And do your best not to forget him."

"Can we tell other people about him? Maximize how many people remember him?"

"While that sounds good, I'm more afraid he will not realize the extent of their memory. I don't think it wise to let him believe that some people still remember meeting him for the first time, just to be disappointed when all they know of him are rumors."

"I'm sorry, professor."

_I'm sorry?_

"It must be rough to watch him go through this."

Oz intentionally smiled at her. "Progress is progress."

"Thank you for your time, professor. Let us know if there is anything else we can do for you."

"Just keep doing your best. That is all I will ever truly ask of you."

Team JNPR said their goodbyes and left. Oz stacked the dishes on the counter, getting lost in thought as he made the beds.

_Qrow's bad luck, Glynda's levitation, my magic. If we all forgot how to control our semblances at once, we could very easily pull some of the feats Oscar has pulled._

_And perhaps that's why I suddenly couldn't navigate my own kitchen. Perhaps Glynda had nothing to do with it._

_Or perhaps this child really is from the future with a tragic tale to tell. How can anyone ever truly know?_

_Is any of this real or am I just dreaming?_

_He did accuse me of being Salem. What if he was right? What if Salem is in his head?_

_What if I am in his head too?_

_What if he does have the power of memory and I just don't realize I'm in his head because it feels too real? What are the odds that this is all a big trap from Salem against me, using an innocent child with a terrifying semblance?_

_Am I stuck in his head, in a memory? Lost inside the next reincarnation's mind?_

_Is the real him unconscious somewhere, trapped by Salem? Is that why he keeps randomly bursting magic? To escape? And I keep stopping him from waking up in the real world?_

_Am I just going crazy?_

_Did he steal my memories and that's how he knows so much about me and Salem?_

_Does he work for her in the present? For me in the future? Neither and just stumbled across this nightmare?_

_He has no idea what his semblance is. How can he ever truly be sure?_

_How can I prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am in my own real life, not in some bizarre simulation, not in someone's head, and not in a memory?_

_He knew cupcake diaries before it was aired_ _live_. _That was our proof, remember?_

_How can we be sure that was live? What if we just don't remember?_

_Oz, I love you, but please buddy you gotta stop overthinking this._

_Owen, how do I know you're real?_

_This is a dangerous path to go on. This kind of mindset will drive you to be paranoid with no way_ _out._

_It's dangerous, but that doesn't make it wrong._

_Please just stop it. I don't like where this is headed._

_And if you aren't real, and I'm the voice in Oscar's head, what if I'm leading him to trust that he can time travel because you, the voice Salem planted in my head, told me that was probably true? You were quite quick to believe him._

_If you're this concerned that you're misleading him, then don't guide him and let him decide for himself. You can't mislead him if you don't lead him._

_But he is a scared child who keeps telling me things hoping I can fix him. If I don't trust him that he's a time traveler then it would break his heart._

_But if he is just an agent of Salem who can mess with people's memories, I'm playing right into his hand._

_But if you really think he's evil, do you really mind?_

_I don't think he is evil, Owen. I do think that there's more going on than I can see, I just don't know what. I hope this isn't Salem, but I can't rule it out and that's scaring me._

_I wish I could help you more, but honestly, you're the smart one._

_Can you help me be brave enough to do what I think is right?_

_That do be what I'm here for._

_Then that will have to be enough. Thank you, Owen._

_I love you too, bud._

* * *

Pyrrha sprawled out on her bed. It had been a relatively quiet walk back, which she was more than thankful for.

"That was strange," Nora sat on the edge of her bed, facing the rest of team JNPR. "Just that entire thing. I honestly don't know what to make of it."

"I don't think any of us do," Ren replied, copying Pyrrha and laying down.

Jaune sat on his own bed, "maybe we should write this down. Like in a journal. That way we can discuss it when we get back from our mission." He looked over to Pyrrha, who had her hands over her face. "I think we all need to stop and process this."

The room fell silent. Ren eventually got up, running through the checklist they had made earlier that week. "Everything else we pack in the morning. Perhaps we should get dinner?"

Jaune, who had been writing down the event agreed. "Are you okay to come with us, Pyrrha, or should we just bring you something back?"

Nora spoke for her, "I think she fell asleep. Let's leave her."

_She knows I'm awake. This woman is a godsend._

Jaune, bless his heart, turned off the lights for her to sleep peacefully on his way out.

Pyrrha considered falling asleep but forced herself to at least get on her pajamas first. Dressed in something more comfortable, Pyrrha splashed some water on her face.

_Why can't I stop crying?_

She wasn't sobbing. There was just an occasional tear that she couldn't seem to control. 

_Why can't I just let go of this? There's nothing more I can do._

_I don't hate my own semblance, it just feels unfair in tournaments sometime. I have perfect control over my semblance. Why does this affect me so much?_

_I can't relate to Oscar at all. Maybe I'm just being empathetic?_

_What time of the month is it again?_

_I need to tell someone about this. But I don't want anyone to see me like this._

Pyrrha threw herself on her bed in a belly flop, scroll in hand. She skimmed through her contacts. 

She ended up calling the most incredible and talented person in all of Remnant.

"Hi mom, you busy?"

"I've always got time to talk with you sweetheart. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Today's just been one of those days."

"Oh yeah? What happened?"

"There's a student that's staying here at Beacon right now because his semblance is powerful and dangerous and he can't control it. I don't know mom, just seeing someone so young so terrified and sad... it was freaky."

"Oh my goodness. That's terrible. He didn't try to hurt you, did he?"

"No, not at all, he actually hugged Nora. I think he used his semblance though. I'm still not sure what to make of it, really."

"Well, I'm sure the faculty are doing the best they can."

"It's just... he's being personally supervised by Professor Ozpin."

"The headmaster?"

"Yeah. I guess I think it's just scary that it's bad enough that they didn't send him to Signal or even Sanctum Academy. He went straight to the headmaster at Beacon."

"That is pretty unusual. Have you talked to anyone about how your feeling?"

"Our team spoke to Professor Ozpin, actually. Oscar fell unconscious after we met and so he called us into his office to debrief... I don't know mom, something just feels wrong."

"Maybe you should talk to your team about it, honey. They might be feeling the same way you do."

"You're right. I really hope I'm just getting too emotionally attached to this."

"You do care about people quite a lot. Oh, your dad just started laughing."

"Dad's there?"

"Yeah. Darling, it doesn't surprise us that you've gotten attached to help this boy. You know, your father and I still have that running bet on when you're going to leave the fieldwork and become a teacher."

"Seriously? I thought you guys said you were going to drop that."

"Pyrrha, you've taken personal responsibility to help anyone train and learn. You remember Tyson?"

"Mom, that was one time,"

"Your father thought you were in love with him and going on all these secret dates until we found out you were training him because he had a good heart. He wouldn't stop laughing about it for days."

"I know mom, you've told me that story a million times."

"All I'm saying is that maybe that same desire to teach someone with a good heart how to become huntsmen has come back to bite you? You never could resist helping others."

 _She is never finding out about Jaune. I'd never hear the end of it._ "Maybe that's it. Thanks, mom."

"Of course, darling."

"So what's been going on with you?"

Pyrrha closed her eyes, falling into simple "mh hmms" as she listened to all the wild adventures of Jenn Nikos the Zookeeper.

_How does she always have such good drama to share and such a positive attitude?_

_I've got the best mom ever, what a queen._

Her teammates came back with a sandwich from the cafeteria.

"Hey mom, sorry to interrupt, but my teammates just came back. Would you mind giving them context? Nora would love this story."

Nora grinned, kicking off her shoes and snuggling up to her. 

* * *

Jaune smiled as Ren and Nora joined Pyrrha for some 'mom time.' As much as he loved his own mother, Pyrrha's mom was the team mom. Sure, they alternated in calling home as a team, but Pyrrha's mom always had the best stories. Nora loved having people to call mom and dad, and watching her get excited on her turn to tell stories always made him tear up a little. He was one of the lucky ones.

He noticed the dried tear streaks on Pyrrha's face, long forgotten with new thoughts of Pandas and tigers. _Why is it so hard not to cry every time we call home?_

_Tomorrow is going to be a hard day on Ren and Nora, but I think maybe 'mom time' is just what we needed to prepare ourselves emotionally for this mission._

Giving Pyrrha the sandwich, he happily joined his second family in crowding around the phone. 

_What a perfect way to end the day before our first mission._

If they didn't have to clean up and get ready for bed, the team probably would have woken up the next morning in that same cuddle puddle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, we love a chapter with essential crises and happy family time. What a great combo.
> 
> We all need some emotional support in our lives. Moms, dads, mentors, grandparents, and all the other trusted humans out there. Pause and give some love to those who truly love you! Unconditional support is not something to take lightly.  
> Sending all the good feels! <3


	14. Oscar Needs a Weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY's Mountain Glenn mission sets off all the Grimm alarms.
> 
> Oscar realizes he can't be helpful without his own weapon and decides to get one and then return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time Travel Extessential Crisis stuff and a lot of confusion ahead. Also a lot of background people.
> 
> Also, this one is a bit longer than usual. I'm not against it.

It's never fun to wake up to sirens. Oz jolted awake, listening to the airhorns go off.

_Grimm._

He was quick to pull himself together despite the early morning hour and was almost ready to fly out the door when he heard a groan.

_Oscar. Dang it, I can't leave him here alone._

"Oscar, are you awake?" Oscar didn't even stir. _There are cameras in here, I could just leave him. Watch the recording from my phone like a baby monitor._

_Yeah but what if he vanishes?_

_It's not like you could do anything anyway._

_And what if he wakes up?_

_Maybe just leave a note? If the noise from the siren won't wake him up, he probably won't notice you left. Just go do your day job._

_Right._

Oz found a sticky note on his desk and scribbled down:

> Oscar-
> 
> There was an alert so I left to handle it. I'll be back soon. Feel free to explore my office.
> 
> -Oz

_What if he is a criminal and uses my clearance to-_

_Just go._

_Fine._

Leaving the note on the table Oz hastily left the building, weapon in hand.

* * *

Oscar awoke very suddenly like he had been zapped by sparks of electricity. _Where am I?_

 _Is this Ozpins old office? Huh._

_Why is there a mattress in here?_

_Why am **I** on a mattress?_

_I don't remember this part of the room. Wierd._

Oscar got up slowly. From the light in the windows, it was early morning. 

There was a plume of black smoke in the distance. _What?_

Peering out the window, Oscar saw Grimm. Many many Grimm. _Oh, gods, it's happening._

He spotted his uniform and was quick to change out of the oversized pajamas. _I need a weapon._

_What if I time travel sometime before this and see if I can't grab a weapon?_

_That could work. I could place an order and then skip to when it's done. But where and when do I go? I could ask Oz, before all of this._

_If I can figure out how to control my semblance, this could work. But how do I control my semblance?_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Ok idea. If I can find that green mist again I can look around and see what I can find. Could be fun._

_..._

_How do I make green air? What is this, Green Eggs and Ham? Just dye it green and eat it?_

_Would green tea help?_

_On a scale of one to ten, I think that's a pathetic idea._

_..._

_But it's **an** idea. I wonder if Oz owns green tea._

Oscar had to climb on the counter to reach it, but his faux memory served him correctly as he knew exactly where to locate the tea bags. He flipped through until he found the desired bag, putting the rest of the bags back in place and hopping off the countertop.

Done climbing on things, Oscar started to heat up the water.

* * *

Oz nearly collapsed from an overwhelming headache. Owen was quick to take control over his body to knock out the two Grimm approaching and maneuvering them to safety.

_Annnnnnd done. What's happening?_

_I don't know it just hurts._

_Ok breathe, I've got you. I can feel your mind spiraling about tea. Maybe that would help?_

_I don't know Owen, I can't think. It's worse than it normally gets when Oscar is around... Oscar, what if he is doing this to me?_

_We have a baby monitor on him, right?_

Oz pulled up his scroll.

_Look he's just casually drinking tea. I bet that somehow the connection between you two got activated. Maybe he loves tea too._

His stomach sank as a green mist started swirling out of Oscar's cup.

_ Look on the bright side- at least he will stop drinking it. Maybe then your headache will go away? _

Oscar stood up, pushing back his chair. The green mist quickly blocked the cameras, overtaking the office. 

_ I'm sure it's fine. _

_Last time he started seeing 'green air' he started seeing all kinds of things before teleporting and needing to be hospitalized._

_I mean... you're not wrong but I think it'll be fine._

_What is that supposed to mean?_

_Just keep doing your job and he will do his. Trust him, he seems very friendly._

_I will not be deceived by a child._

_So what are you going to do? Rush back to your office and grab him?_

_I shouldn't have left._

_Do. Your. Job._

_Fine. If this choice haunts me I'm going after you._

_Fine. I don't think it will though._

* * *

Oscar stepped into the green mist that was engulfing the room.

 _I need to find a store._ The mist around him surged in acknowledgment. Little pieces of confetti ebbed and flowed with the current of air. He touched one after another peeking through each color's hidden world. 

_That's the one._ A blue whisp wove through his fingers, painting the tips of his gloves in cerulean. Drawing a circle in the air he peered through it. _Definately a market. Hopefully, I can find a decent craftsman._

He stepped through the portal. 

Welcoming him was a wave of heat and a little girl's panicked shrill. 

"Oh hello." Oscar was quick to raise his hands in surrender. He spotted the little girl, a young fanus with dog ears running away from him. Her mother was quick to grab her child and run for help.

"I didn't mean to scare you!" Oscar called out after them. _This is going well. Where am I?_

Looking around, every single person on the beach was a fanus. _I'm the only human here. I'm guessing this is Menagerie? Huh. Very hot here. I'm understanding Blake's outfit now._

Lowering his head, he walked towards the wall of stores that lined the edge of the beach. _I'm beginning to think there's not going to be a weapon's shop here._

_Maybe I should go back to Beacon? There's probably somewhere near the school._

_I wonder if I could just make one with magic._

_Why didn't I think of that earlier? Didn't Cinder do that back at Haven?_

_Gosh, I'm so dumb sometimes._

_How do I get out of here?_

"Freeze, intruder!" There was a white fang member pointing a gun at him.

_So I made this thing that many would refer to as a 'mistake.' I need to stop making those._

"Excuse me, sir, I'm just looking to go shopping." Oscar's hands were still up.

"It's ma'am."

"Sorry."

"How did you get here?"

"My semblance? I didn't mean to scare anyone, but popping out of nowhere is kinda my vibe."

"Right. And with an outfit like that this looks more like a robbery."

Oscar looked down at his long sleeve coat and gloves. "I just got here! Maybe I was buying clothes for warmer weather, you don't know."

The woman sighed. "Do you even know how much clothes around here costs?"

_Do I even have money on me? Crap. I'm really dumb._

"Ma'am, are you trying to see if I'm worth robbing or something? I don't think I've done anything to warrant this type of response."

"Since when did you humans care about if the fanus deserved a kind response?"

_Do I lie and go for the whole 'I'm a fanus' thing again? Although I'm kinda surprised that worked last time, that guy was surprisingly gullible._

At Oscar's lack of response, the woman sighed. "What's your name, kid?"

 _Quick what was that fake name..._ "I go by Striker, ma'am." Oscar feigned pride and stood confidently. 

"Striker?" 

_Oh gods she didn't buy it._

"As in the leader of the largest White Fang rebellion? I mean the coat does check out... and the teleportation semblance... holy crap. Okay, uhhhh... Can I take you to the Chieftain of Menagerie?"

"I'm sorry, what?" _Did I say that out loud? I probably shouldn't have said that out loud._

She grabbed her scroll, "Someone get Ghira? I think we just found the leader of the fanus rebellion."

Oscar watched silently.

A voice replied back through her scroll, "are you sure Janice? We've had frauds show up before."

"Kid can teleport and matches the description perfectly."

_Now is probably a bad time to tell them I'm supposed to be helping with a war right now. Crap._

"Does he have the weapon?"

"You're right sir, that is the final test." She looked over to Oscar, "Striker, if you are who you say you are, then show me your weapon."

_Welp._

"I don't know who you think I am, I just happened to be named Striker. I have no clue who this guy is though. Sorry? Can I go shopping now?"

The White Fang guard looked annoyed but nodded. Oscar scurried away like a rat who barely escaped with a single crumb. 

It didn't matter what store he walked into he just had to get out of the eyes of all the people watching. He looked around. _I'm surrounded by shoes. Not a weapons type place but at least I can hide out here behind the shelves._

"Can I help you?" A pretty young woman with long blonde hair and large brown eyes smiled as she approached him. A long fox tail curled at her side. She smoothed out her apron.

 _And she's pretty. Hello._ "I uh, was just hoping to get out of the attention. My semblance scared people," Oscar blushed over his stammered words.

"Oh yeah? What did ya do?" She smirked playfully. 

"Teleported?"

"Oh. Oh that's kinda cool. Can I see?"

"Uhh.... Do me a favor first?"

"Sure."

"I need to buy a weapon."

"A weapon?"

"Yeah, I'm training to be a huntsman except I was learning how to fight off of his weapon, and turns out I can't keep it. Any chance you know how I get my own weapon?"

She frowned at him, her tail dropping. "Your mentor must really suck if they trained you off of their weapon without teaching you to make your own first."

"I can make my own?"

"Well, in this case, you might want to get it made to something similar to your mentor's, but that's still a very unrecommended procedure."

"I do a lot of things the unconventional way. Know where I can find an armorer?"

"The White Fang usually provides weapons to its workers if you're willing to work with them until you're academy age."

"Know who their provider is? I may just bypass the White Fang and make a purchase directly."

"Uh, yeah. If you can afford that, then I guess you could."

"You wouldn't happen to know how I could do that, would you?"

"You could ask one of the recruiters to double-check, but I think they buy from Iron Clad Inc. They do most of the metalworking around here so I wouldn't be surprised if they had the deal with the White Fang. There's also Cold Stone. They are a smaller company but they do good work."

"Both are located in the area, yeah?"

"Yeah, they're on the island. You could look up directions on your scroll."

_Does my scroll still work? Ironwood blocked things in the future, but does it work now in the past? Unless this is in the future. Does this count?_

"You do have a scroll, right? Are you sure you can afford this?"

 _No?_ _I have no idea what I'm doing._ "I just broke it, actually. Figured I would do all my shopping at once. You wouldn't be in a kind enough mood to write directions down for me, would you?"

"Right." She wrote down the directions. 

Oscar took the paper. "Alright. As promised, you want to see me teleport?"

"Wait, if you can teleport, why do you need directions?"

"I get lost. But I guess you're right- it would have been way more efficient to ask your number."

Her fox tail curled. "Oh yeah? What's your name, Mr. Smooth?"

"Striker. Yours?"

"Megan. It's nice to meet you."

A little lime whisp flickered into his vision. "It was nice to meet you, Megan. Maybe I'll see ya around."

 _Alright little flicker of color, take me where I need to be._ He drew a circle in the air, letting the green drip ono his shoes, and stepped through quickly. 

A flash of green light left Oscar blinking in his new surroundings. _Looks like I'm still in Menagerie. That's good._

He skimmed over the paper in his hands for a street address. _Pretty face, bad handwriting. Eh, who am I to judge I still write like a five-year-old. Thank the gods for typing._

"Excuse me?" Oscar asked one of the vendors. "I'm looking for the company Cold Stone. Any chance you know where that is?"

The older man with antlers looked at him with pity. "Go to Fredrick the Third Statue and make a left. It's down the road on the right."

"Awesome! Thank you sir."

_Now, where do we find this statue?_

He wandered the town for about half an hour before giving in and asking another vendor.

"Excuse me? Sorry, uh, yeah. Hi. I am super lost right now. I'm looking for Cold Stone but I can't seem to find it? I think I'm going in circles." 

The old lady smiled at him. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No ma'am. Is it that obvious?"

"Oh, it's quite alright. I'm going to take a wild guess that you are looking to join the White Fang?" 

She laughed at Oscar's instinctive neck rub. 

"Don't worry kid, I won't tell your mom. Here, why don't I send my grandson to walk you there."

Oscar nodded sheepishly. _That works._

"Charlie! Come 'ere and hep this boy."

A White Fang member jogged over to the jewelry stand. 

"Charlie, dear, will you walk this boy to Cold Stone? The poor thing is lost."

_Thing?_

Charlie grinned between his tusks. "Sure thing. Come on kiddo. You made it quite close, actually."

"Thank you, sir."

"What's your name, kid?"

"Uhh, I'd rather not say if I can."

"Of course. It's just up the road."

After a silent walk, they finally arrived outside a small shop in a different plaza.

"Thank you, sir. I can handle it from here."

"You sure? I know some of the guys inside, I can probably get you a deal."

"I don't plan to join the White Fang, sir."

"Oh, no problem. I wasn't trying to push an agenda on you. I actually went to school with the owner."

"Really? That's cool."

"Why don't we get inside."

"Okay."

The inside of the shop felt compact, and the space was crammed with all sorts of metals and tools. _Dope._

"Heya Claude! I gotcha a customer!"

Claude, turned around from his workbench, his beak jutting out of his face.

_Well hello._

"How can I help you?" Claude asked with a toothy smile.

"I'm looking to buy a cane."

Claude laughed. "I get a lot of kids dressing up as Striker, but I gotta say, your costume is by far the coolest."

"And how do you this Striker guy isn't impersonating me?"

The room quickly filled with laughter. Oscar smiled, dying internally because what are the actual odds that there was someone going by his name whom everyone knew about and... _What if they are talking about me? I can time travel... what if this is my future?_

_Near future, seeing as I haven't aged._

_I mean, the name, the outfit... oh crap. So my relations with the fanus is going to get fun real soon. Nice to know._

_I need to go back in time and build this weapon but how? Where do I go?_

_That pretty shopworker, Megan, seemed to think we forge our own weapons._

_What if I go back in time, in a time of peace, and forge my own? I probably can't afford this service anyway._

_But I made this poor guy walk all this way. I should at least check the prices._

"Alright, lil man, how can I help you today? Looking for this?" Claude grinned brightly under his beak. He held out a golden cane, that looked just like Oz's. 

"Is that a toy version of professor Ozpin's weapon? I don't look that much like him, even though he did to wear a fabulous coat before he became a boring headmaster."

"You know Professor Ozpin?"

"Yeah? Is that not why you picked that out?"

Claude shot Charlie a confused look.

"That's Strikers weapon, isn't it." 

_Can someone say, spoiler alert? I almost don't want to go gold now. I was going to but... wait would that create a paradox? Am I now obligated to make that exact weapon and get famous?_

_Is this destiny?_

_If that's the case, is it even possible to save Beacon?_

_Or would going back in time change this future, so that it exists nowhere but my memory?_

_Is there one line of time that works for everyone or do I have my own line? I mean, I'm assuming I age normally since I didn't change age when I time jumped, but then my age is independent of the year._

_I must have my own line of time, linear to only me. I'm getting older linearly, but my linearly isn't in date order._

_It's like I am teleporting but my time is just not as straight-forward as everyone else's. Like its a ball of tangled yarn- all one strand but doesn't appear to be a line from the outside perspective. Everyone else gets a nice laid out piece of yarn and I get a strand that's been through the garbage disposal. All of them just one line, but my life just so much more complicated than it needs to be._

_Is there a way to return semblances? I'd like to just not with this._

_Can I just reroll my life stats entirely?_ _What are the odds that I re-roll both Oz's next body and time travel nightmare?_

"Kid, you alright?"

"Huh?" Oscar crashed back into reality.

"You spaced out there, kid."

"I did, yeah."

The grown adults exchanged a look that Oscar couldn't fully decipher.

"You gonna tell us why?"

"Oh! Oh yeah. Uh... Just casually having a life crisis?"

Charlie knelt next to Oscar. "Are you okay?"

"No. No, absolutely not. As I literally just said, I'm having a crisis."

"What kind of crisis?"

"I just figured out that I'm in my own future. And if I go back to my time in your past, this will be both a past memory and a future event. This is the future, the past, and the present. I don't know what to make of that."

A long pause of silence left Oscar's chest tight. 

"I think I'm going to assume I can't afford this place and go. Thanks for your kindness."

Oscar grabbed the first whisp he could see, and silently prayed it would take him to Ozpin as he drew the elliptical in the air and stepped through it.

* * *

Charlie looked to Claude.

"That portal... wasn't that what Alarik described in his interview with Aquella about Striker?"

"Yeah. You don't think..."

"Yeah what are the odds..."

"You think that was the real guy?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask around."

"But what he was saying, about time travel..."

"I know. But what if that's the truth? What if we met him before he became... well..."

"There's no way, right?"

"It certainly feels that way. His instinct with not recognizing the weapon. Could he really be a time traveler?"

"Or someone else with a portal semblance hoping for glory."

"But he wasn't taking credit for it so what's the point?"

"I don't know if he was trying to seem more like Striker by playing dumb and bringing up Professor Ozpin, but it's a strange lie."

"Yeah, what was up with the Professor Ozpin thing anyway? It's a bizarre lie."

"Yeah, like we all know that the headmaster of Beacon doesn't hang around with fanus. Why would the real Striker even care about him?"

"I don't know man. We should probably report this anyway. Imposter or not, the crew trying to find him may be interested in knowing."

"True. You got the number?"

* * *

Oscar stood in the courtyard of Beacon academy, and upon recognizing the statue outside the main buildings he immediately breathed a breath of relief. It was long past dark, the moon shining down on the buildings.

"I like your coat."

Oscar looked to his left. The voice belonged to a young adult, dark brown hair sticking up in all directions. He had brown eyes framed by a thin pair of black glasses. He wore a long coat, a darker green than Oscar's. He had light green accents, mainly his undershirt and boots, and he had a thin black scarf that flowed behind him. He was grinning ridiculously.

"Hi. I think you look cool too." _I'm here for this look. Dang, I wish I was that cute. Geez hormones, get a grip!_

"We're a color scheme away from twinning. What are the odds, right?"

"Yeah. What are the odds indeed."

"I'm Oz. What's your name?"

 _Did he just say... Oz?_ "I'm Oscar. It's nice to meet you."

"The airship should be here in a minute or two. I'm here to pick up my teammate. What about you? Here to pick up or go out for the night?"

"Uh... Neither? Sometimes I get in my own head and get lost. But hey, if you want to hang out, I get the feeling we have quite a lot in common."

"Yeah, I'd be down to hang out with someone with such good taste. It's amazing how we've never run into each other. Although, you do look a bit young to be here."

"My semblance is to blame for that. I'm not a student here, but I do teleport around."

"Probably why you never figured out the airship points, huh?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Well if style says anything, I suppose we're destined to be best friends. Any chance you'd like to get a coffee? I'd love to hear about all the places you've been."

"Oh, uh... sure. I'd love to chat."

"If you can really teleport anywhere, why be here?"

"I uh, am trying to build a weapon. Figured the academies would be a good place to start."

"Why not go to Signal Academy? They have more students around your age. They might be a bit better equipped to help with that."

"I have no idea where that is, but if that's where you think I should go, I'll pay them a visit."

"What kind of weapon are you hoping for?"

"Oh, uh. A cane."

"A cane?"

"Yeah. A mentor of mine is a huntsman, and whenever he had the chance he would come by and I would train with his cane. I want to be just like him, but he's not available to help me make one for myself so I thought I'd surprise him. Forge my own weapon. With lots of help, of course."

"I didn't actually make my own weapon, I inherited mine."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And I've always wanted to try to make one. Maybe I could help?"

"I'd really like that."

"Sounds cool."

"Do you have a scroll?"

"I think there's a virus on mine so I'm trying to avoid using it until I can fix it."

"Oh. That's really weird."

"Yeah. I can't tell if I'm being paranoid or if there's something going on that I don't know about."

"I get it, technology stuff can get wild and super expensive."

The sounds of the airship washed over both of them.

_Wow, older versions of the airships are very loud._

Oz spoke loudly over the whirling, "well, uh, do you want to meet somewhere? I have class in the morning, but I'm free in the afternoon."

"Yeah, sure. We could meet by the main statue at whatever time works for you."

"What about 1 PM? Right after lunch?"

"Sounds good. I'll see ya then, I guess."

"Yeah see ya."

Oscar watched the airship land. 

Oz gave him a wave and headed onto the airship coming out a moment later with his arm around a girl in a sparkly purple sequence dress. _She's had a few too many._

_I guess Oz has always known how to deal with drinkers like Qrow. Huh._

Oscar watched the airship float away again as the few people that got off left to their dorms. He was quickly alone.

_Now what?_

_I could just time skip again to the meeting tomorrow. When's the last time I slept? Wasn't I just sleeping?_

_I don't think I'm that tired yet. But all this time-traveling does have my aura kind of low. I probably shouldn't jump again so I don't get trapped somewhere dangerous. I need to stop and recharge._

_Maybe I should take a nap? Or just stay awake until I can go back to Headmaster Oz time and sleep there where it's safe._

_It should be relatively safe here though. I'm sure I could find a nice crevice to hide in for a bit. I doubt I could just ask for a bed._

_I'll go looking for a new scroll in the morning. I think if I get the oldest model possible, I'll never have a phone too futuristic to use no matter when in time I go._

_Now, where to lie low and sleep for the night._

* * *

Ozpin stood outside the headmaster's door, knocking gently.

Professor Quixinn opened the door, "knocking that lightly is only going to make me think you don't want me to open the door, Oswald."

Oz cringed at the use of his first name, "please sir, call me Oz."

"Mr. Ozpin, take it or leave it."

"Fine. It sounds fancier anyway."

"I think you mean formal?"

"Er, sure? Why not both?"

"If you're going to be the prodigy child of Beacon, you really need to start acting the part."

"I get that a lot, sir."

"Then why do you still act like you're waiting to be squashed under my heel like a bug?"

"I'm not sure what you mean?"

"If you want people to take you seriously, speak in vague metaphors. You'll sound much wiser."

"And communicate a lot less clearly."

"Stop mumbling. If you're going to be the new headmaster, you will need to clean up appearances."

_Since when was **I** supposed to be a headmaster? At this point, I'll be happy if I can even get my license._

"Professor Quixinn, sir, it's rather late and I don't wish to take up any more of your time. I would just like to ask about something."

"If you don't want to take up my time, get to the point already."

"Right. I met a teenager, like Signal Academy age,"

"Stop it with the fillers,"

"He looked maybe 16"

"Sound confident, don't use maybe,"

"And his semblance is teleportation. I was wondering if security was aware that there was a child randomly appearing on campus?"

"Security is none of your concern. You're a mere student."

"But having eyes and ears on campus, people who are literally trained to spot bad vibes, shouldn't the things the student's notice matter?"

"Oswald,"

Oz flinched.

"I am the headmaster and I'm telling you to go to bed. We have everything under control."

"Of course, sir." 

"You have classes in the morning- if there is anything less than an A at the end of this semester, we're going to have a talk about your priorities."

"I think I've got my priorities right where they need to be, professor."

"What do you know about anything, kid? If you weren't famous from the last Vytal festival, do you really think I would have even let you in here? You've got potential, kid but that's all it is. Potential. If you want more than that, well, you'd find it prudent to take my advice."

"Yes sir. Have a good night."

"You as well."

Professor Quixinn headed back to his desk as Oz made his exit.

_I don't know what I thought would happen. Should I just go to bed? I am supposed to meet that kid tomorrow. And he can teleport- he could be anywhere!_

_Why do I want to go find him and check on him so badly?_

_Why don't I go talk to my team? They'll have a better idea of what to do than I ever will._

* * *

Oscar found an ally between two buildings, close enough to campus to not fear Grimm, but far enough to not be caught by security. It smelled... decent enough. It was out of the wind and there was a nice patch of grass. 

_I'll take a nap, and then when tomorrow arrives or I wake up and time skip, I'll get a new very old scroll and meet with Oz about making my own weapon. This should be fun!_

_Tomorrow is going to be a great day._

_And then, when I'm brave enough, I'll go back to Headmaster Oz and handle the Grimm. That should work. Yeah._

* * *

Oz paced the space between the beds in the dorm room designated for team OVCM (read as team Overcomer).

"Oz, if you're this worried about it, we should go. I won't take too long to check out the campus for a lost kid, right?" Mallory was leaned back on her bad, watching Oz burst across the room repeatedly like a bizarre game of table tennis between the walls.

"But if I'm just overthinking it, I don't want to keep you guys up."

"Violet's already going to keep us up. You know I'm still terrified of her dying in her sleep when she gets like this." Chartreuse whined, stroking the girl's long dark hair.

"She will be fine, Char. She won't die." Oz kept eye contact with him as he said.

"I know, I know, your the smart one and she's not blackout drunk, just tipsy. I'm not leaving her side until I know for sure. I've just heard too many horror stories."

"Oz, if Char is going to leave the lights on to take care of Violet, we might as well go out." Mallory stood up to get on her shoes.

"What if something happens?"

"Call an ambulance, genius."

"I know."

Oz took a deep breath.

"Oh no, he's in leader mode,"

"Mallory, not now. I'm stressed over nothing and Char is already antsy. No matter what I think I need to burn some energy,"

"Yeah, before you burn the carpet,"

"Mallory-"

"Oz, I got it. Let's go hunting for your mysterious new crush."

"What? No!"

"Baby boy, you are way too far out of the closet to crawl back in."

"Not like that! He's a child, Mallory. Like 16 or younger. I'm 20. That's an absolute no."

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize. So this isn't gay panic, but dad panic? No wonder you burned the carpet."

"I didn't-"

"Oz."

Oz looked down where he had been pacing. "I burned the carpet."

"We'll just say Violet puked and get a replacement that way. Sugar daddy Quixinn doesn't need to know."

"It's not like that!"

"Then why did you go to him first?"

"There's a child who can teleport running around campus who is completely lost and hoping to build a weapon. This is an adult problem, Mallory."

"No adult has ever cared about any of us, it's why we all have daddy issues. Let's be real, Oz, the only reason you started going to him is because he thinks you're some kind of prodigy after the Vytal tournament."

"It's not like that, Mallory. I promise."

"Says the king of secrets."

"I'm not that bad."

"Please, honey. Just accept it. You'd make a better conman than huntsman. You just like to help kids. Teaching a class on how to catch con artists like yourself would be the epitome of enjoyment for me. Heck, I might just willingly attend lecture for once."

Oz bit back his sass. _Char is already on edge, she's lashing out. It's probably attention issues again._

_Mallory is probably just jealous that the headmaster is giving me attention. She is right on one thing- we've all got some serious daddy issues._

_Don't give her negative attention, calm down and give her positive affection._

_Be the bigger person. Be the leader._

_Even when it's hard._

"You still willing to come with me?"

"I've already got my shoes on, whaddya think?"

"I know I can always count on you. Char, you've got your scroll charged and nearby?"

Char nodded.

"Good. I've got mine on me. We will keep in touch. Let's aim to be in bed by 1 AM at the latest, we do have class in the morning."

"You're gonna have to drag me." Mallory groaned.

"How fast you wanna be dragged?" Oz grinned at her as she groaned again. "Come on, I think we can do this pretty easily."

Mallory and Oz walked out of the dorm building.

"Alright, what does he look like?"

"Think me but tiny and in a lighter green and some other fun colors."

"He looks like you? He's not your little brother or something, is he?"

"I doubt it. I mean, I'm pretty sure my parents are dead but hey, what do I know. He's got green and gold eyes though so that's a major difference."

"Works for me."

"Take the high ground, if he teleports hopefully there's a flash of light or something. I'll look at the better hiding places around campus."

"Why do you know hiding places, Mr. Secret? Tryna hide your boyfriends from Daddy Quixinn? Wait, the headmaster isn't actually making you do sexual favors for him, is he?"

"What? No. Absolutely not, Mallory. He's just trying to be a mentor."

"Oh yeah? What's that like."

"It sucks. He's super needy."

Mallory laughed, before taking off and hitting the top of the building.

"Found him!" She called out.

"Seriously?"

She hopped back down. "Yeah, you weren't kidding about him being a kid. He is literally against the wall of the cafeteria."

"Well, that was easier than expected."

"Yeah, so much for burning energy. Race ya?"

"I'll win."

"Eh, he knows you so he should see you first."

"Bet. See ya slowpoke."

Oz beat her there with ease. _Ya know Oscar when you said you could teleport I was hoping you would teleport home, not fall asleep behind the cafeteria._

"Oscar," he spoke softly, "wake up bud, let's get you a real place to sleep."

Oscar stirred before his eyes flashed open and he threw himself into the wall behind himself with a thunk.

"Oof," Mallory said, "well you weren't kidding when you said he was a little you."

"What do we do?"

"We could just say he's your cousin or something. He could just stay with us for a bit."

"Where would he sleep?"

"Oz, he is literally sleeping on the ground. Anywhere is an improvement."

"True enough."

Oscar watched the young adults with bleary eyes. "I am good right here."

"You can't sleep the night outside of the cafeteria. If you need a place to stay, why don't you come with us? We've got a room at least."

"Don't make us drag you," Mallory added sharply.

Oscar looked up at her.

"He's gonna be the odd one out with the mommy issues. Come on kid, get up."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mallory. This genius's teammate."

"Not the drunk one from earlier," Oz added, "come on let's get you inside."

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope. Get up we're going," Mallory grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Well okay then."

Oz sent a text to warn Chartreuse that they found him and he was coming over for the night.

"Room 2-101. Huh," Oscar read the dorm room plate and a sense of familiarity kicked in. 

"Yep. come on in. Ignore the burnt carpet."

Oz looked to Oz questioningly but said nothing. The room felt small, but it lived large. The place looked like it had been hit by a hurricane, but there were themes throughout the chaotic spaces.

"Here, take this," Mallory held out a towel and a set of her own pajamas, "and go shower. Use any soap just don't be wasteful, kay? But seriously, you smell like a dumpster."

Oscar blushed and muttered a thank you before Oz led him to the bathroom. 

While Oscar was gone, Oz was left to deal with the sleeping situation. 

"I think we're all okay to snuggle, Oz. Whether he wants his own bed or he's down to snuggle one of us, no one will really care." Mallory made up her bed semi-neatly.

"Yeah. And in all honestly, I'll probably fall asleep over here with Violet, so it's all good," Char added with a smile.

"Thank you guys for being okay with this. It's a rash decision but-"

"You've been homeless and knowingly letting someone else deal with that tonight when you can help seriously bothers you. It's obvious."

Oz felt his stomach lurch, "I never told you about that, Mallory. How did you-"

"As I said, Ozy. It's all over your face. I know the look, boy genius. Your chaotic improvisational energy mixed with calm and logical- that's not a thing that happens under normal circumstances."

"Screw you, and your brilliant observations." He pulled her into a hug, "thanks partner," he whispered into her hair.

She rolled her eyes and hugged him back, "you're lucky I like you."

"I know."

Oscar spent that night in Chartruse's bed, as Char was too busy keeping an arm around Violet to make use of it himself.

_Tomorrow is going to be quite an adventure._


	15. Adventures of Team OVCM: The Scroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar gets to know an older version of Beacon Academy as well as team OVCM.  
> He also goes shopping for a scroll.

Oz woke up to the clink of glasses and was quick to spot Oscar, fully awake and ready for the day, standing in the doorway with a tray of mugs. His eyes glinted gold as they flung open like a deer in headlights when they made eye contact in the dim light.

"Good morning," Oz said quietly, knowing the others were still sleeping.

"Your alarm goes off in like ten minutes, right?" 

Oz looked at his alarm clock. "Yeah."

"I figured we should get water for her," Oscar nodded towards Violet, who was curled right up to Chartreuse. 

"Good thinking."

"I think I saw a coffee machine down the hall. You want some?"

"I'm okay, Oscar. You don't have to do anything special for us."

Oscar set down the tray of mugs on Charteuse's unoccupied bed, which Oz now processed was made up, corners tucked in and everything. _It's made up all fancy like a hotel. He really put in the effort._ "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long."

Fully aware he wasn't getting those last ten minutes of sleep, Oz bit the bullet and crawled out of bed. "I might as well get ready to face the day. I'll be back soon and then we can figure out food. Promise you won't leave before I get back?"

"Yeah, I'll stay here."

"Good." Oz flicked off his alarm clock to avoid the future beeping and grabbed what he needed to get ready for the day.

Getting out of the bathroom, Oz was relieved to see Oscar flipping through a book with the beside lamp on. Oz woke up Chartreuse quietly, and he blearily crawled out of Violet's bed for his turn in the bathroom.

Oz sat down at the foot of the bed that Oscar was making use of. 

"What book did you find?"

Oscar flushed, "I hope it's okay that I grabbed a book. I don't know whose it is."

"Of course, you're fine. Unless you weren't planning to give it back I doubt anyone will even notice. Besides, I'm probably the only avid reader here anyway," Oz intentionally smiled reassuringly, and Oscar smiled back. "Seriously, what did you find?"

"Oh, uh, I saw a book about Grimm types and figured it was about time I flipped through that information for myself."

"Wait, you mean the textbook I put on my desk to take to class?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, you can have it back."

"No, seriously, you're fine. But why read that when we have an entire shelf of other more fun books?"

"I've seen a lot of Grimm, and I figured it was about time to learn some common strategies, that's all."

"If that's what you're after, I think I've got the first edition somewhere in here. That may be a bit of an easier read." Oz moved to scour the shelves to find the desired textbook, and Oscar didn't have it in him to stop him.

Finding the book, Oz put it next to Oscar.

"Ozpin, have you ever seen this Grimm?" Oscar turned the book around. On the page was the sketch of what looked like a strange whale.

"Uhh no. A lot of the Grimm we're learning about right now are so rare that no one is even sure they exist. And even if it did, it's probably water-based, so unless you want to become a scuba diver, you don't have to worry about crazy Grimm like that one. I think volume one will have more Grimm that you recognize."

Oscar turned the book back to himself, staring intently at the picture.

"Buddy, you don't have to worry about creepy Grimm like that. There's not even a real picture, so it may not even be real. Usually, even rare Grimm will have a real picture. There's nothing to be afraid of." Oz put his hand on the top of the book in an attempt to get it away from Oscar's terrified eyes.

"They are real," he whispered, "I think I've seen one before, but I can't really remember where. I think it's hallow, like a big balloon, so it floats."

"And I think our imaginations can be scary sometimes." Oz firmly pulled the book away from the young teen, replacing the book with one of the mugs of water.

"Right. If I really had seen it, I probably would remember it better."

Oz took note of the slight shake on Oscar's hands as he took a sip from the mug. 

"Maybe I can find you a different book, one with less scary pictures."

"I just want to know why it felt so... familiar."

"I have another textbook on various strategies on taking down a Grimm you don't recognize from school. Maybe that would help you fight the Grimm in your imagination."

Oscar nodded.

"Alright, let me go get it," Oz moved the first Volume of the Grimm book onto his own bed, just far enough to be out of Oscar's immediate reach, and placed the second volume on his desk before fishing through the shelves again. "Let me know if the vocabulary's too advanced, I know it uses a lot of fighting terminology. I've got a lot of books, I'm sure you can find one that you like, especially if you're in the mood for fiction. I've got a really good tale about a man with two souls."

"That is a good one. Truly a classic for the ages."

Chartreuse stepped out of the shower, a towel around his shoulders as he combed through his hair.

Oz pushed on Mallory's shoulder, "Time to get up, Mal."

"Ugh, can't Violet go first for once?"

"She's hungover, we're gonna let her sleep as long as possible."

"Fine." Mallory got up slowly, saying good morning to everyone as she fetched her things before heading into the bathroom.

Chartreuse looked to Oz, "should we start getting Violet up?"

"Probably."

* * *

Oscar couldn't stop himself from frequently eyeballing the Grimm book on the desk. 

_What is so familiar about all those weird Grimm? Maybe they're all things Ozma has seen over the years? Maybe that's why there are no pictures?_

_Am I going crazy?_

_Yes. Of course I'm going crazy._

_I'm aging in non-chronological order and I don't even know what year it is._

Oscar had flipped through half of the book already, some of the sentences echoing in his head, searching for the memory that they connected with.

_I wonder how many of these Ozma helped write._

_And I kind of hate how many of these strategies I can remember using. But I haven't been in that many Grimm fights._

_I hate these memories. They're not mine. I want to get rid of them. Sell them at the marketplace. At least then I would have money._

_I wonder if future Oz would give me some cash. It would make my life significantly easier, and he's going to die soon anyway._

_Is it rude to ask though?_

* * *

As soon as Violet was out of bed and getting ready, Oz moved to check in on Oscar. He was staring at the second Volume of the Grimm Encyclopedia.

_Oh great, I traumatized a child by letting him read about the rare freaky Grimm. Great._

"Oscar?" Oz said over the sound of Mallory's hairdryer.

Oscar snapped to attention, a haze of gold flashing over his eyes, "yes?" 

They made eye contact. Oz got his inner mind under control before sitting next to Oscar, wrapping his arm around the smaller teen's frame. 

"Oscar, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just lost in thought."

"Care to share?"

"Don't worry about it, you're dealing with enough."

"Oscar, I'm sorry my book scared you. I'm really worried about you, and I don't think those pictures helped."

"I don't want you to worry about me."

"Well, that's not your choice, now is it?"

Oscar didn't respond but curled into Ozpin's arm, stubble brushing his forehead as he buried his head under his chin. Ozpin pulled him into a hug.

"I've gotcha."

Oz made eye contact with Chartreuse who then had the marvelous idea to take Mallory and pick up breakfast for the team from the cafeteria.

"Violet will be much appreciative, I'm sure. Thank you," Oz said, his voice admirably steady as the two waved their goodbyes.

Oz let Oscar stay snuggled up against his chest. 

_What a sweet kid. He looks so innocent. He didn't need to know about the horrors of Remnant. I really need to fix this._

"Oscar, can we talk about it?" Oz whispered into Oscar's hair that smelled nicely of Violet's shampoo. _She really has all the fun scents._

"I don't know what to say," Oscar muttered into his uniform.

"Okay. Maybe we could just get some words out there and see where things go. Can you give me three words that would give me a glimpse of what you're feeling?"

"Angry," Oscar replied quickly.

_Angry?_

"And scared. And exhausted."

"Did you sleep last night?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"You don't seem fine, Oscar, and that's okay. There's a lot going on right now, I can tell that much."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Well then, that makes it easier."

"What?"

"It's simple, silly. I thought you'd have to tell me the whole story, but as it turns out, you only have to tell me half of it. That means we're already halfway there," Oz ruffled Oscar's hair.

"I'm pretty sure that means you know less than half of it, but whatever," Oscar sighed, "I teleported away from a battle. And I think that whale thing was **there**. I need to get a weapon so I can go back to help. But I'm scared and I'm tired, and I just want this nightmare to end."

Oz hugged Oscar tightly, feeling the child quake beneath him.

"Things haven't really slowed down since Haven and I've never just had the time to stop and panic and now it feels like I have all the time in the world but when will I have the strength to go back? How am I going to consciously walk back into a war that will inevitably steal my soul? How do I surrender my life to a cause that I don't even know that I believe in?"

Oz bit his tongue to refrain from commenting as Oscar's words blurred into muffled mumbles.

 _I think he's delirious. Either that or he's crazy._ _I_ _suppose teleporting around would do that to you though._

_I can't imagine teleporting away from home and not knowing how to get back. Or maybe he can get back but doesn't want to. How wild does your life have to be to make you think you're in the middle of a war?_

_I mean seriously, if a Grimm like that showed up it would be all over the news._

Oz simply reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the tissue box. He rotated Oscar's shoulders, turning the hug into a lean, giving Oscar access to the tissues and better breathing space. He never stopped rubbing circles across his back.

Violet walked out of the bathroom, throwing her pajamas at her bed. "Who's that?"

"Good morning, Violet. This is Oscar, he's a good friend."

"Oh. Hi."

Oscar turned to her, both of their bleary eyes meeting. "Salutations."

"Too early for big words," she mumbled, crawling back onto her own bed and curling up.

_I doubt I can get Oscar to explain whatever any of that meant now. Just the same, he's getting helped._

_What do I do when we are supposed to be in class? I probably shouldn't just leave him here. He might run off or do something stupid._

_Can I take him to class with us? Is that even a good idea after his reaction to the textbook?_

_Maybe hearing a real adult explain the different categories of Grimm and talk about the strategies to defeat each one would calm him down._

_It doesn't hurt to ask, does it?_

Mallory flung open the door as Chartreuse followed behind with the plates of food.

"You know how to get them to let you take out breakfast? Mention you overslept, golden boy, and suddenly they'll whip up a to-go set. I swear you get special treatment, Ozpin." Mallory closed the door behind Chartreuse and took a plate from him.

Ozpin bit back the sassy retort, choosing to narrow his eyes and say a soft, "thank you," before taking one of the plates as well, placing it in Oscar's lap.

"We're thankful for the special treatment, though, 'cause we did get breakfast in bed. If only they delivered too," Mallory's shoes were quickly discarded as she lounged on her own bed. 

"Here, Oscar, eat," Oz pushed one of the biscuits into Oscar's hand.

With hesitation, Oscar let himself eat. Oz took another biscuit from the plate for himself, knowing Oscar wouldn't eat unless he did too because no one likes to be the reason someone else doesn't eat. It's uncomfortable for everyone.

Finishing chewing, Ozpin laid out the plan.

"Oscar, if you'd like to come with us, hopefully, my **privilege** will give you access to join us in class. If not, I think it's best you stay here. Our class is in about thirty minutes and only goes for an hour and a half. I'm sure I've got enough books to keep you busy here if you don't want to come."

"It's your Grimm class, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'd like to come if I can."

"That settles it. We should probably head out a bit earlier than usual so that we can ask permission. I think asking first should avoid any issues with Professor Griffington calling you out in the middle of his lecture."

"Sounds good."

"Leave in ten?"

With the room in consensus, Oz found himself getting up, still slightly hungry but ignoring it, to find a uniform to put Oscar in.

"Keep eating," he directed Oscar as he shuffled through his clothes. He pulled out the needed pieces of the uniform from his drawers and an old belt that was almost too small for himself. "When you're done eating, it may be best to put on the school uniform. It's a bit itchy, but it will keep a lot of the attention off of you."

"I think I have an old backpack you can use, too," Chartreuse said, dusting the crumbs off his hands over his plate and getting up. He found an old backpack, there were more than a few small holes in the black fabric. "I want this back, but it should help."

Oscar was quick to get up and take the clothes to get changed, "you can eat the rest, Oz." He made his way into the bathroom again.

_Did he even touch the plate once I turned around?_

"Nope," Mallory said, Oz looked at her questioningly. She nodded her head towards his unoccupied bed, "I know what you're thinking- he's gonna be hungry later."

_Good to know we're on the same page._

Oz took another biscuit. "Alright team, here's the plan. Oscar is hoping to build a weapon, a cane to be exact. I've never done anything like this, but I figured it could be fun. You guys in?"

"A chance to not study and hang out and build something dope? Duh," Mallory flipped her hair, the strands not truly falling back into place.

Violet let out a 'mmmh.'

"Why does he want to build a weapon?" Chartreuse asked.

"He wants to fight Grimm, I think. I think being a huntsman runs in the family."

"Oh. Okay. I wanna know from him for sure first, but then yeah. I'm always here to support your wild dreams, Ozpin."

"Right. Sounds good. I think after class we should talk about designs and maybe go out and get a good lunch. Can't exactly take him to the cafeteria. If we're far enough in on the design, maybe we can get parts while we're out."

"Ooooh anything beats studying for that history test tomorrow," Mallory was lacing up her boots.

"Ah crap, I completely forgot about that."

"Ozpin? Forget about a test? Since when?" Violet, plate fully devoured, had her shoes on and was ready to go.

"It's not like I'm the one worried about failing it. That class is easy. I only have to care because you people all need help studying."

"We can study tonight dumb-dumb. I wanna help cute boy Oscar!"

"I don't think he'd like to be called that, Violet."

"Yeah, yeah. He seems like a sweet kid. I wanna teach him violence!"

Chartreuse snorted, "Violence lessons with Violet. Heck, I'm here for it."

"Who says you're invited, Char? You're too soft."

"Oh come on, he looks so huggable! You couldn't really have it in you to throw a punch at that little freckled face do you?"

Violet laughed. 

Oscar stepped out of the bathroom, the clothes truly sagging on him, even though the outfit was tucked in and belted.

"You ready to go?" Oz asked.

"Sure." Oscar put his clothes in the holey black backpack and put it on.

_Gods he looks so much poorer without that green tailored jacket. I wish I had a uniform that was closer in size. He looks so sad in the uniform._

_If only the uniforms here were free for students, I'd get him one in his size to borrow in a heartbeat._

After a brief walk, they arrived at their destination. 

"Professor Griffington?" Oz got the attention of the older man at the door, "good morning sir."

"Good morning, Oswald."

_Stay calm. If you let them know it bothers you, you're less likely to get Oscar inside. Not the time to correct him about the name._

"My friend Oscar is here at Beacon for a visit, and I think it would be a valuable experience if he could spend the day with us, since he wants to come here someday. He's very quiet, and he is really interested in studying Grimm. Would he be able to sit in class with us today? I promise you won't even know he's here."

The older man studied the smaller teen.

"I don't need some child to be distracting you all class. You're my best student, Oswald. I can't have you throwing away your education for some **pathetic** friend."

_Well, that went horribly._

"He won't be a distraction, sir. I promise."

"He's already a distraction- you're already more concerned with taking care of this small kid than you are with your grades."

"Excuse me?"

"If he was really your friend, he wouldn't be getting in the way of your studies."

Oz could feel Oscar beginning to hyperventilate behind him. _Oh gods he better not run. Not that I can't catch him, but that would make this situation worse. Panicking is the worse thing we could do._

"Well, I'm afraid if Oscar won't be able to join us for class, then I'll be late. Come on, Oscar, let's go."

"I'll just have security escort him to the front office, you need to be in class."

"I'm taking care of him, so I will be taking him back to where he is currently staying until after class."

"He's already shifted your focus, you need to get your head back where it counts."

"You sound ridiculous, sir. If that's all then we should get going."

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, you guys. I'm not gonna take this," Mallory grabbed both Oscar and Ozpin pulling them away from the professor. The entire team was quick to turn to leave.

"If you all skip class today, I will have Headmaster Quixinn reprimand you all personally."

"Let him try," Oz turned to the professor and glared.

"Care to explain that attitude, young man?"

"I will not let you decide what's best for me or what I want. Clearly, this was going to the headmaster no matter what I did, whether you helped a child distract me or banished a child and distracted me with his absence. So what's the point in standing up for myself? Clearly, no one is listening. Why should I explain myself when no one cares to listen? As far as you're concerned, anything that isn't a textbook is going to end my career. If you're that small-minded, then I can't do anything but take it or leave. Right now, I choose to leave. Do I need to say that slower?"

Oscar looked between the two, trying to get a grip of the situation. "Maybe I could help? I don't have to be a distraction, I can be quite helpful."

"Shut up, child. I need to handle Mr. Ozpin's attitude and you're nothing more than a **distraction**."

"Maybe I should just go to the library? I didn't mean to cause trouble."

"Children like you would never be allowed near a prestigious library like the one here at Beacon. We wouldn't want you to rub your grimy hands all over it."

Oscar shuffled his feet, "Oz, just go to class. I'll find you guys later." 

"What? Oscar, no, I'm not leaving you."

"It's fine, I needed to go to the store about my scroll anyway. I'll find you guys later."

"How are we going to find you"-

"I can teleport, silly, I'll find you. Just go, We've already caused a scene," Oscar nodded to the students waiting behind them outside of class.

Oz huffed in frustration as Oscar grabbed at nothing in the air, painting a circle and stepping through a green portal.

"I'll find you guys later."

And just like that, Oscar was gone.

Anger flashed through Oz and he felt his stomach churn. _I should have stopped him. I shouldn't have let him go like that. He may never come back now. I had the speed to stop him so why didn't I?_

Oz stormed into class, head spinning with anger, and his team followed him in silent obedience.

_I hate being the teacher's pet. I hate how they think I am amazing and how they need to shield me from my own incompetence. I don't want to be molded into the perfect huntsman, I don't want to be your headmaster, I just want to help people like me._

_Why does no one care what I want to do with my own life?_

Oz would be lying if he said he had paid attention in class. He was sure Professor Griffington had called on him at some point, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

_Anger is apparently more distracting than trying to care for a traumatized child._

_At least I actually like one of those distractions._

Oz found himself writing out all the emotions cluttering his head, knowing people would assume it was notes- a lot of notes to be exact.

* * *

Professor Griffington pulled out his scroll the moment his classroom was cleared out.

"Headmaster Quixinn? We have a problem. I think it's time someone calls in Specialist Owen Stanly."

"What happened?"

"Sir, I just met Oswald Ospin's new friend- a small child named Oscar- who can teleport. I got a really bizarre feeling in my gut- you know I've got a good intuition. Something is off with that kid. Normally I would just put security on it, but with this semblance... I think we need to call in the specialist."

"I see. Oswald did come by last night and mention a young man on campus he assumed to be a security concern."

"He was introduced to me as a friend. Why would he lie about that?"

"This is definitely a case for security. I'll handle it."

"We need to do something before he wrecks our new protege, he almost persuaded team OVCM to skip class today."

"As I said, I'll handle it."

"Of course, sir."

"I'll update you later. Goodbye."

Professor Griffington was left to stare at his scroll's 'call ended' screen. _There's something so off about that kid. I really hope this specialist is all he is made out to be and more._

* * *

Oscar found himself somewhere very very cold. _Am I in Mantle or Atlas?_

_Eh. I can find a crappy old phone anywhere. Let's just hope I don't have to steal it._

_But first things first, I need to change. This is ridiculously itchy!_

Upon walking around, he recognized that he was indeed in Mantle. Finding a shop that didn't have a "no fanus welcome" sign because he refused to support that, he found a company with a bathroom he could get changed in. 

With his coat on and the itchy oversized uniform off, Oscar maneuvered the semi-familiar streets for an electronics shop. 

It didn't take too long to find a worn sign over the doorframe of a cleaned-up store in a worn-down shopping sector. The store was clearly renovated and the money coming in was probably the only thing keeping power to the city block.

Despite the cleanliness of the place, there was only one other customer in the store. Oscar walked straight up to the counter. 

"Excuse me?"

The young man working the counter smiled politely at the shorter teenager behind the counter, "can I help you?"

"I'm looking to buy a scroll."

"Well, we've got an entire wall. Why don't look around and come back if you've got any questions."

"Actually, I was hoping to buy the oldest model you guys have. Like the oldest thing you've got."

The polite smile faded quickly. "If you can't afford a scroll, then leave. Don't waste my time."

_Think fast. He probably was excited since this coat makes me look richer than I am. Maybe if I act a bit more pompous..._

Oscar scoffed, "Of course you lot down here in Mantle have terrible customer service. Perhaps I should go back to Atlas and just take the oldest one they've got. I shouldn't waste my time here anyway."

"Wait, why are you looking for an old model Maybe I can help you find a new phone with the features you're looking for?"

"Oh please, I wouldn't want to waste your time."

"No, my apologies, I shouldn't have assumed anything, sir."

Oscar heard the other customer scoff in distaste. _Agreed. At least I must be doing the rich snob attitude decently._

"I am planning to make a video, comparing the oldest available scroll model with the newest one. Atlas doesn't carry old phones like that since no one wants them, but it turns out it wasn't worth the trip."

"Actually, I have just the thing."

"Oh?"

"We have an exchange program here so I could sell you the oldest model that someone has traded in that hasn't been scrapped for parts yet."

"I do need it to still work."

"Of course, of course. Let me check in the back real quick."

"Hmmm." _How do rich people stand? Am I doing this right?_

The moment the worker disappeared to the back, Oscar got the other customer's attention.

"Psst. You wanna know a secret?"

"I don't care, entitled brat."

"I don't think I can afford a single phone here."

"What?" The middle-aged woman faced him.

"Shhhhh," Oscar winked at her and returned to pretending to be poised. The woman covered her mouth and turned away.

"Here we go," the worker came back. "This is the oldest model we've got right now. It's one of the first scrolls to become used by non-huntsmen."

"Fascinating. I'm assuming you're not going to try to wheedle money out of me for this garbage?"

"I'll only charge you for the cost of the working parts, no worries."

"This better be a small number." _Seriously, if this isn't double digits I might have a big problem._

"What about a two hundred lien?"

"You want me to buy this garbage for two hundred lien?" _Okay, I need a new strategy._

"Sir, it's not too unreasonable."

 _Time to pull out the big guns._ "My father works for one of the tech companies up in Atlas and received this," Oscar said flashing his scroll from the future briefly, "as part of his company benefits. Do you mean to tell me you want to charge 200 lien for that garbage? The parts are barely worth fifty! Do I look dumb to you?"

The man flushed. "I can go for fifty."

Oscar pulled out the bills in his wallet. _Nope, don't got fifty. Crap. I'm about to be broke._

"You're getting thirty. I refuse to spend more on that junk. If I'm not getting a deal, I'll just take my business to someone else who won't try to make a profit from literal garbage." Oscar put thirty out of the thirty-one liens on the counter.

"I don't think I should be selling this to you for so little,"

Oscar put the last bill on the counter, "that's the last you can squeeze out of me." _Literally._

Defeated, the worker simply took the 31 lien and handed Oscar the chunk of metal that apparently was also a scroll.

"Thank you." Oscar left quickly.

He heard the woman say, "I'll be right back," to the worker as she followed him out.

Oscar let the woman corner him. 

"What the heck was that?"

Oscar opened his wallet and showed her, "so I'm broke now."

"Seriously? What did you show him?"

_Uh oh._

"Let's just say if he got a closer look I would be in a lot of trouble," Oscar smirked.

"That poor worker!"

"He clearly didn't own the place so it's not like I'm ripping him off. Besides, this thing is total garbage, I'm going to have to make a ton of modifications to make it even work properly." 

"I can't believe you just did that."

"Me neither."

She burst out laughing and he joined her. 

"I really have to keep moving, but thanks for not getting me in trouble back there."

"No problem. Thanks for giving me a hilarious story to tell my daughter tonight."

Oscar waved, portaling himself back to young Ozpin. It was weapon-making time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if you don't have the time to comment or can't think of anything to say, the fact that you're still here and still reading makes me very happy and I am really thankful for all the support, even when it's silent.
> 
> Silence is my jam :P  
> (That was a username joke, I know, it's bad)
> 
> I love all my lurkers. Thanks for all the support! I'm glad you're enjoying this fic. :D
> 
> I get to tell my commenters they're cool directly, but I want the rest of you to know I think you're awesome and I'm here to vibe with y'all- we've already got one idea in common so there's probably more!
> 
> Thanks for just sticking around!  
> I've got the best readers. <3
> 
> Sincerely,  
> I_Dance_2_Silence


	16. Adventures of Team OVCM: Outsourcing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's readings: Sass with a side of sass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up:  
> -A bit of language  
> -Adults failing to handle things  
> -Sass. A lot of sass.

Oscar waited for team OVCM by the statue, knowing Oz would know to look for him there. Like clockwork, they emerged from a nearby building.

Oscar smirked as they approached, "so your name is really Oswald?"

Mallory smirked, "his middle name is Walter."

"Seriously?" Ozpin groaned.

"Yep! Oswald Walter Ozpin. His initial's spell OWO." Mallory had her arm around Oz's shoulders, their hips bumping as they walked towards the airship pick up point.

"OWO? **OWO?** That's literally the best thing ever, oh my lords." Oscar was full-on laughing.

"And this is why he won't let us play truth or dare again," Chartreuse added with a chuckle, "the guy hates that we all know."

"So enough of my embarrassing life story," Oz was flushed red, glaring at his teammate as the group boarded the airship to the city.

Oscar was fully aware of his perfect timing and smirked to himself. The students giggled amongst themselves as Mallory messed with Ozpin's hair.

The group fell into silence, the hum of the aircraft filling the space.

Oscar took the time to really look around him. There were seats along the edges and things to hold onto in the middle. The ship wasn't particularly crowded, but they certainly weren't alone. He was by far the youngest person on board. Someone had painted purple swirls over the silver walls.

Chartreuse piped up, "so about this weapon, you wanna give us some details, Oscar?"

"Oh, Oz told you guys about that. What did you want to know?"

"Why does a kid like you need a weapon?"

"My semblance is teleportation and I can get into some serious trouble when I teleport to a bad spot. Like in the middle of a fight, or surrounded by Grimm, ya know. Just want to be ready to fight."

"You know a weapon isn't much without training, right?"

"I've been trained, I just don't own my own weapon."

"How exactly does that work?"

"Family stuff,"

"And where is this family now?"

 _How do I explain this one? They're sort-of dead? Screw it I'm just declaring them dead and banishing the topic._ "Not around. I'd rather not talk about it."

He could feel Chartreuse's judgemental eyes. "Right. How exactly do we know we can trust you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Some random kid appeared out of nowhere looking for a weapon."

"So?"

"It's just... weird."

"What else do you want me to do?"

"Why not go to an academy? Like Signal? That's nearby to teleport to and is equipped to help students like you."

"I just thought this would be fun. I can leave you guys alone if you'd like. I have inconvenienced you enough."

Violet piped in, "as much as I like you, Oscar, it may be wise to go to Signal. They could help with your semblance too."

"Right. I would have to enroll though, wouldn't I?"

"Well, yeah. But that might be a good thing."

"Right."

"Oscar," Mallory placed her hand on Oscar's shoulder, "they might be able to give you a real place to live. As much fun as it was to have you over last night, that's not really a permanent solution."

"Right."

"Do you want us to come with you? This airship does go that way too." Oz looked to Oscar with piercing eyes.

Feeling the analyzing eyes, Oscar shifted his weight. "I don't have to stay with you guys. I never actually planned to. That was on you guys."

"Oscar that's not the issue."

Oz's stare intensified and Oscar met his gaze. "Right."

"Would you like to come with us for lunch?"

"I probably shouldn't."

"You barely touched breakfast."

"Not hungry."

With a sigh, Oz brushed Mallory's hand off Oscar and pulled him into a hug, "we're not trying to get rid of you, Oscar. I think helping you build a weapon would be really fun. I just think getting you to Signal, where you could get a real education on Grimm and have a stable place to live would be ideal. And it's just close enough for us to visit. Is it so wrong to want you to have a place to call home?"

"I have a home."

"Then why did we find you trying to sleep behind the cafeteria last night? Why didn't you just teleport home?"

_Because my home is in the middle of a battlefield._

"I was tired. Sometimes when I'm sleepy I teleport to the wrong places. I don't want to blow my aura with my semblance just to walk into a swarm of Grimm. It's safer to stay put when it's safe and teleport only when rested."

Oz hummed in understanding. "Is that how you got to Beacon? You teleported when you were tired and got lucky?"

"It was better than where I was."

Oz hummed again. "Join us for lunch?"

"I don't have any money. I blew it on fixing my scroll. Had to get it reset."

"I can afford lunch, Oscar."

Oz ruffled his hair, taking Oscar's silence as acceptance.

"I'm not really hungry," Oscar lied, knowing full well that Oz was as broke as he was.

"Is your excuse that you don't have the money or aren't hungry? You sound like you're backpedaling."

Oscar ducked out of the hug and glared at Oz.

"If it makes you feel better, we're interrogating you through lunch. Think of it more as I'm buying you an excuse to chew and not talk," Oz smirked.

Oscar huffed, squeezing his arms tightly around himself.

Mallory attempted to put an arm around Oscar, but he shrugged her off. She resorted to pulling out her scroll. Oscar felt a bit bad but was a bit too upset to care. _I thought this would be a lot easier. Why did Oz have to rope them into this? It would have been fun, just the two of us. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. But still._

It didn't take too long for Oscar to deduce they were texting each other as they all pulled their scrolls out. He simply pulled out his own scroll and decided he needed to figure out how to set it up.

* * *

Oz led the team from the airship to one of the local pizza places. _Now to convince Oscar to go to Signal._

_I'm so glad Mal just looked up some selling points of the academy. This really is a better plan than trying to take care of him ourselves. I really hope this doesn't make him push us away. God, I hope this is the right decision._

Sitting next to Oscar, the team was quick to order a cheese and pepperoni pizza with a round of water for the table. 

Oscar sat perfectly poised, hands folded on the table, posture perfect. Oz didn't comment but could feel the coldness in Oscar's blank gaze.

"So," he asked, looking to Oscar with a smile, "who is this family member that taught you to fight?" _Because I could have sworn you said mentor last night and I want to know the truth._

"Um, he's not exactly family. It's just easier to call him that. He's... taught me a lot of things."

"Does he have a name?"

"Umm... Ozma."

"Ozma?"

"Yeah."

"And he really exists?"

"Well, he's dead now. Only alive in our memories."

"Did you live with him?"

"I have lived with him. It was never supposed to be permanent, anyway. I might go back to his office later. His friends let me live there."

"Oh? Do you like it there?"

Oscar shrugged, "I'm not complaining. Some of his friends have been helping me deal with some of the medical issues that come with this super fun semblance."

"Where is this office?"

"It's near Beacon."

"Can we visit?"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Oz hummed. "Any particular reason?"

"His friends might freak out. They already have to deal with me randomly appearing and needing medical help, I don't think they'd appreciate me bringing them more nonsense to deal with."

Oz hummed, taking a sip of water.

"Anyway, can you guys help me with my scroll? I'm trying to set it up again, but I don't want to get any viruses like last time."

Oz smiled through the clear topic change, leaning over and helping him. _I'm getting this kid's number and I'm keeping tabs on him._

* * *

Pizza came, and Oscar put away his new scroll. _This one is really different than the future tech. It's so many more steps to do so little!_

The conversation stayed light, and Oscar zoned out a bit, enjoying the feeling of peace around him. _Moments of peace are far too fleeting._

Oscar limited himself to two slices of pizza, knowing headmaster Ozpin could actually afford to feed him more food later. He hoped no one noticed that he was eating comically slow to avoid having to take more.

He could tell team OVCM had already decided to take him to Signal, so he didn't bother resisting when Mallory brought it back up. _I suppose I could try to stay in one time for a while, but I already know it will fail. Honestly, I'm far too overdue for a magical panic attack. If I'm going to Signal, I should do so in the future, not now._

_A bit too late for that though, isn't it? I honestly should just time skip again. Maybe go to school with Ruby. That could be fun._

Oscar quietly agreed to 'just a tour,' knowing full well they would try to enroll him. _I kind of want to see them try this without a background check._

_What are they gonna do, call up "good ol' dead Ozma's friends" and ask them for my history? That would almost be funny if I didn't have to excuse them for not existing yet._

_Well, they might exist by now. I wonder if the general is about my age now. Maybe a bit younger. Or is it older?_

Oscar ignored Oz's attempts to get him involved in the conversation, preferring to sit quietly and observe the team. _They really are quite different from team RWBY. It's nice to have a change of pace._

It wasn't long before they were back on an airship, headed towards Signal academy. _This is about to go quite horribly._

* * *

Oz wanted to scream in frustration. Oscar had gone silent, choosing to sit next to him on the airship. He flinched when Oz put an arm around him, but he left it there. 

_Did we push him too hard with this Signal idea? Are we really doing the right thing?_

Oz was glad for Violet's long-winded stories, even if they pretty much all included drugs and blacking out. At least it wasn't silent.

Oz exhaled in relief when Oscar's head leaned up against his arm, his eyes closed. It didn't take long for Oz to be sure Oscar had fallen asleep. He kicked Malloy since she was across from him and nodded his head towards Oscar. 

She glared at him for the undeserved kick before processing what he meant. "You think he's asleep?"

Oz winked, knowing his voice might wake Oscar up.

Mallory grinned. "That's good. I'm really worried about him. There's no way he's eating or sleeping enough. I just hope Signal lets him in like this. School has already started, but they can't just ignore this, can they?"

"Do they have dorms at Signal?" Violet asked nervously, looking to Chartreuse who went there a few years back.

"No, Violet, but I'm sure we can find a teacher willing to host him. That's what I ended up doing when my mom got sick," Chartreuse smiled, "besides, a bunch of the staff know me. I can assure you someone will help. The teachers there are really good."

"Can you message them ahead of time? If this doesn't work out I'm scared he's gonna run."

"I asked on the way to Pizza Boys. I've got someone who said they'd be willing to host him if needed, but they're not sure about long term. They're gonna meet us there and help us with paperwork and stuff. Figured Oscar might be more convinced with a tour of the place."

"Seriously? Why didn't you mention that at lunch?"

"I figured Oscar should have the right to say no. Telling him that someone had already agreed to help at Signal would force his choice."

"Yeah, but it would have de-stressed the rest of us majorly."

"Whoops. Sorry."

"It's fine."

Oz flashed Chartreuse a grin. _I've got the best teammates._

The conversation continued to shift to lighter topics, and Oz was perfectly content to listen quietly and feel Oscar breathing steadily against his shoulder.

* * *

Oscar woke up slowly to the sound of the airship descending. He pushed down the panic from the unfamiliarity, pulling himself away from Oz. "Are we there yet?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah. Are you feeling a bit better now?" Oz had pulled his arm back. _I bet his arm fell asleep. Whoops._

"I guess so. We're at Sanctum, no, Signal, right?"

"Yeah, we're at Signal Academy, or at least the stop. It's not a far walk."

Oscar nodded, standing up to stretch. Team OVCM joined him. It had been a good hour in the air.

Chartreuse took the lead and the group followed him out of the drop spot and towards the academy. He called someone. 

_Did they arrange a tour?_

_I suppose now would be a bad time to tell them I have memories of this place, wouldn't it? Oh well. No one needs to know._

It wasn't a long walk. Oscar was grateful for the scenery. _It's so different than the walk to Haven, although I will say we have better trees._

Something green caught the corner of his eye. _Why did my semblance just activate? Why do I randomly see this green mist?_

_That has to be part of my semblance. Why is it acting passively? I could create it earlier. Have I just been in one place too long?_

Out of instinct, he reached for Oz's hand, and he accepted the gesture. 

"Oz?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a weapon on you?"

"No, why?"

Oscar didn't answer but he kept his eyes on the green mist. _Is it... coming towards us?_

* * *

Oz looked towards where Oscar was staring. _What the heck is that?_

"Uh, guys?" Oz nodded towards the green blur in the distance.

"What?" Violet asked, looking towards the area of trees Oscar was fixated on.

"You don't see that? The green... thing?"

"The trees, Oz?"

"What? No. There's something over there."

"Yeah, I don't see it."

Oz looked between her and Oscar.

"Here," Oscar said quietly. Oscar pulled his hand away. The green faded rapidly.

"What the heck?"

"It's a side effect of my semblance. I think I've stayed here too long." Oscar pulled his arms around himself.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. But it takes me somewhere."

Oz looked to his team, who looked just as confused as he did. "Where did it take you last time?"

"Grimm." Oscar tore his eyes away from the patch of trees, shaking his head rapidly in a mental reset.

"We're close to Signal. Let's pick up the pace," Chartreuse said. 

They walked faster, none of them armed for that type of adventure.

* * *

As promised, it wasn't too far of a walk. Oscar wasn't surprised to see a middle-aged man waiting outside the gate to meet them.

"Hello, everyone," he said in a deep voice. He had dark skin and a bright smile, a fabulous afro outlining his tall face. "My name is Mr. Johnston. Welcome to Signal Academy! It's good to see you again, Chartreuse."

"It's good to see you again too, Mr. Johnston. These are my teammates, Oz, Violet, and Mallory, and that's our new friend Oscar. He's hoping to check the place out."

"Of course! It's so nice to meet you all. Why don't we get inside? Once we get visitors stickers on everyone we can poke around. Shall we?"

The group followed him, and Oz was quick to pull Oscar after him as he had become entranced by the green mist again. Oscar forced himself to snap out of it.

The urge to run towards the green air didn't lessen much when they were inside. It just made it a little easier to not have to see it.

The woman at the front desk scanned team OVCM's student ID badges and printed their stickers. Oscar already knew this was going to be difficult.

She looked to him for his ID on his turn and Oscar just smiled awkwardly. "I don't have an ID. Is that okay?"

"That's fine, honey. What's your name?"

"It's not gonna be there."

"Oh, it can't hurt to check. This is quite an impressive database."

 _I haven't been born but okay._ "Oscar Pine."

"Alright give me one second. Hmm okay. Date of birth?"

 _Uh oh._ "I don't know. I usually go with March 21st. I'm about 15 if that helps." 

She looked at him and Oscar smiled through the internal panic. _It hurts not to age in date order. I have no idea how old I am at this point, but I doubt it's been a year, but my birthday might have passed by now. I'm not sure how many days I have actually been around since I started time-skipping._

_Not too long, right? Maybe a few days?_

_I was unconscious for some time though._

_Maybe weeks?_

"Where are you from?"

"Oh that's a loaded question. Uh..." _Did I say that out loud?_ "I'm from the outskirts of Mistral. I used to be a farmhand. Yeah, I don't think I exist in paperwork."

"Oh. Well, we can work with that. Do we have the time to get a profile for you started?"

_If I put down a date of birth that makes sense now and then time travel back to this era when I'm older, that could cause some serious problems for me in the future._

_Oh who am I kidding, I'm dying young._

"Sure thing."

"Can I send you guys to Mrs. Clarkson's office?"

"Of course. Come along everyone," Mr. Johnson smiled. He led them through a side door to what seemed to be a dean's office. _This guy is very smiley. I can't tell if it's fake or not._

Oscar was directed to sit in the chair in front of the desk. Team OVCM sat along the back wall, letting the working adults sit together around the desk and handle it.

"Good evening," Mrs. Clarkson said from the other side of the desk. Oscar looked to Mr. Johnston who took a seat on his right. "Can I help you?"

"We're looking to start a file for my new friend Oscar Pine. He's from the outskirts."

"Of course, give me one second to pull up the page."

Oscar shuffled into his 'professional' position, just as Ironwood had taught him. _It's adult time._

"You can relax, sweetheart," the woman said, glancing at him from the corner of her eye before going back to her screen.

Mr. Johnston smiled directly at him and Oscar gave a nod, not relaxing his formality. "There's no reason to be so tense, it's an easy process."

"There's no reason to smile like a serial killer, no one's dead yet." Oscar said dryly. Oscar blinked rapidly, "oh gosh that was too much, I'm so sorry." The tense formal posture faded rapidly into a shrivel as Oscar sunk in the chair. _Holy crap I just said that out loud._

_Somebody swat me._

Needless to say, Mr. Johnston stopped smiling. "Are you alright?"

"Yep," Oscar replied meekly.

"Can you remember the last time someone hit you?"

"Hit me? Why?"

"I find that students that are used to getting hit tend to not know what to do when someone starts acting nice to them."

"Oh. Well, I guess that's true. Sorry, I guess my brain thought your smile was forced."

"It's alright, I'm not mad. But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, sorry. Uh, I haven't been hit outside of a fight in probably over a month now." _That's lower than I thought. Huh._

"Outside of a fight?"

_I'm from a battlefield where Salem is trying to destroy Atlas. One of her goons nearly took me out, but I persevered, making it all the way back to my most powerful ally only to get backstabbed and fall off of Atlas._

"I got robbed." 

"What did they steal?"

"A lamp."

"A lamp?"

"It's a long story."

"I see. When was this?"

"Not too long before this started, so like a few days now? Maybe weeks?"

"Before what started?"

"Oh, uh, I got shot and it triggered my semblance. I don't want to get into it."

"Do you know what today's date is?"

"No, but I'm not sure that's gonna help. Again, I don't want to get into it."

"What about the year?"

"Why is that relevant?"

"Have you spoken to a doctor?"

"Yeah, they had a whole team check me out. They were from Atlas, so they were legit."

"Atlas? How long ago was this?"

"Depends how long I was out. I kept passing out, it was a whole thing."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Oscar stopped. _Well, I mean, no, but I can't say that, now can I? Eh, screw it I've already opened this can of worms._ "I mean, no, but I'm not gonna let you do anything about it."

Oz pipped up from behind them, "if you were treated by Atlas doctors, wouldn't there be a paper trail?"

"You'd think, Oz. You'd think. But no. I'm sure there are records of it somewhere but I don't think you're going to find it."

"Why not?"

"There are some things I just know, and that's one of them."

"You didn't give them your name and left before they could charge you."

Oscar gasped at Oz's blatant accusation. _Well, it's not like they **asked** me to pay. _"I can neither confirm nor deny that."

"How bad is it?"

"What, my medical problems? It's an oopsie. But it's also fine. It's complicated."

"Are you even fit to be doing this?"

"This? Oh yeah, sure. I mean, I survived falling off of Atlas, what more do you want from me?"

"You did what now?"

 _Okay I need to undo this conversation, this is spiraling._ "I'm kidding. But seriously, I teleported to the wrong place and got shot in the crossfire of a huntsman taking down a Grimm, he felt bad for shooting me and helped me get medical treatment. He didn't want to lose his license so he got me help off the grid. We're cool."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The guy was ex-Atlas, I dunno I kept passing out. I'm fine now, it's all good."

"Yeah, that's not exactly fine."

"It was a while ago, like I said, all good."

"How long ago?"

"Fifteen days."

"You made that up."

"Yes, I did."

"Oscar," Oz sighed, "can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"From the beginning, please. Your story keeps changing and I'm done. Please, just talk to me."

"Would you believe me if I said I was a time traveler?"

"No."

 _Well okay then. I don't know what you want me to do here._ "Alright, sure. I can do that. Uh... where to start."

"You wanna start with Ozma?"

"Ah yes, my dead friend Ozma. Him. Right. He was a huntsman, the greatest of all time. Taught me everything he knew about using his magical cane. He died of sickness a while back, and someone else inherited the cane, but that's not the point. Point is, I've taken out my fair share of assassins, and I've lost to enough of them at this point that I think it's time I get my own weapon. Ya know, survive. Maybe knock out a few of his ex-wife's goons while I'm at it."

"Ex-wife's goons?"

"Who do you think sent the assassins?"

"You've definitely been hit a few too many times in the head, I shouldn't have brought you here."

"I mean, I agree but for completely different reasons. But we're here now so we might as well stick with the plan."

"The plan?" asked Mr. Johnston.

"Uh-huh, I need help building my own weapon. I want to build my own cane. Ya know, something blunt- I'm not trying to kill people, but can still fend off the Grimm said people attract. Feel me?"

"Can I stop you, for a moment?"

"Sure."

"You know we're not buying this, right?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You're not the first person to come through here not wanting to share their story, although I must admit your method is by far the most creative yet. Usually, students get all quiet and clam up, but rambling nonsense... it's quite the strategy, Oscar."

 _You keep telling yourself that._ "It's good to be recognized."

"I'm getting a very strong sense of chaotic good from you."

"That I can agree with."

"What about we talk less about who you are and talk more about who you want to be. What do you really want to get from here? Why come to Signal Academy after the school year has already begun?"

"Well, for starters, they brought me. In my defense, I never wanted to waste your time."

"You're not wasting anyone's time."

"You left your class to give a tour to an unwanted visitor. I'm literally insane- you'd never actually accept me."

"Why don't let me be the judge of that."

"Sir, with all due respect, if you're even considering this, you've got poor judgment."

"You think so?"

"I'm here for absolutely no other purpose than to build a cane like the one I learned to fight with, there's no way you really want me in your school."

"Really?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I was gonna make them do it, but they decided to pass the responsibility to you guys. Which is understandable, they're still a bit too young to know how to handle crazy."

"Oh yeah? And whats makes you think we can handle crazy?"

"I don't know, but they certainly seem to think that you can."

"You're trusting them?"

"Sure. They have themselves together." 

"Do they, now?"

"No, but they sure fake it better than me."

"I think you're funny, kid."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"So it's not bad judgment, just overall poor taste. Good to know, sir."

Mr. Johnston laughed. 

_How in the heck is this working? How is this man not fuming at this sass? I'm on fire how is this man not burning?_

_How terrible are the other teenagers here that this is nothing? This poor man. How do teachers **survive**?_

"I think I'm going to love having you in my class."

"I think you're going to have a lot of regrets in your near future."

"You're an absolute savage and I love your dry humor."

 _Who said I was joking, you overly smiling clown?_ "Thanks."

They fell into a 'comfortable' silence as Mrs. Clarkson finished getting the setup ready. 

"Alright, are you ready?"

"Sure."

"Do you know how to work a computer?"

"Sure."

She turned her computer around to him. "Can you fill out this form for me? We're going to look over your shoulder and make sure you don't misinterpret any of the questions."

"Okay."

Oscar essentially put his name on the form and looked to the others for approval. _I can't answer any of this without sounding like a crazy person._

"Maybe it would help if we did this together?" Mr. Johnston asked.

"I can't honestly answer any of the remaining questions. Do you want me to just put stuff?"

"Just answer to the best of your ability."

"Alright, but don't get mad when you don't like it."

_Question 2, date of birth. I'm just going to put my actual one, I don't care that it's in the future. If they don't like it they can change it._

_Why do they want to know about my parents? I'm putting "mom" and "dad." Fight me._

_Where am I from? I'm leaving it at Mistral._

_Medical information. Uhhh, let's include panic attacks and glitchy semblance. Please don't hurt me I'm smol. Let's hope I don't regret sharing that later._

"I think that's good enough to get us started. The rest we can fill out once we've broken the ice a bit, okay?"

"Sure." _And just like that, I have a paper trail. Future Oz will get a kick out of this one._

_Wait, why does headmaster Oz not remember this? Was he messing with me or maybe he just doesn't recognize me?_

_But why didn't Ozma, the guy haunting his memories?_

_Maybe he repressed it? But why?_

_Maybe I'm just not that memorable._

_How often do people just pop into his life that this is normal?_

"Oscar?" 

Oscar shot up, vision brightening at the sound of Oz's voice. He whipped around.

"You good?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You zoned out."

"Oh. Sorry. What happened?" Oscar looked to Mr. Johnston.

"You mentioned you were homeschooled, so we have to give you a quick entrance exam."

"Oh, sure."

"Can you read and write proficiently?"

"Yeah."

"Can you do basic math?"

"Yeah."

"Are you willing to work with others?"

"Definitely."

"Do you want to be a huntsman, Oscar?"

"No. But humanity needs to be united, and I'll be damned if I don't make an effort to try. I'm not going to sit still and let the innocent get hurt, and I'm not going to sit here and let the guilty be abused."

"And you think you can do that?"

"Try and stop me."

"What does it mean to be a huntsman?"

"Protecting life without questioning its value."

"Care to elaborate?"

"It means being able to look your enemy in the eye, take out your weapon, and drop it to show that you're willing to sort this out in a way that isn't violent. It means taking care of people, even those that hurt you. It means bringing people together. A true huntsman is the physical representation of what it means to be a part of humanity- teamwork, trust, faith, and hope."

"You said you didn't want to be a huntsman, but your definition is not like most that I hear. Is there a reason you don't want to help people?

"It's scary and hard. I don't want to do things that are scary and hard, but that doesn't mean I won't."

"I think we're going to get along just fine. Did you need a place to live?"

"Only until I build that cane."

"I can work with that. So it's settled then?"

"Sure. Put me in coach."

"Alrighty then. Care for a tour?"

"Whatever you think is best."

Mr. Johnston chuckled. 

Oscar eyed over the man who was far too happy to be sane.

"Welcome to my school, Oscar Pine."

_Oh good lords, this is the idiot in charge?_

_At least I'm one step closer in my plan to die young._

* * *

Mr. Johnston grinned at Oscar's stunned reaction. _I love this part._

"If you could email me the unfinished questions, Mrs. Clarkson, that would be lovely. Shall we?" He stood up, extending a hand towards Oscar.

He didn't take it but got himself up.

Mr. Johnson led the group out of the office and through the buildings, quickly falling into the same routine he always did as the school's tour guide during all the open house events.

Eyeing Oscar, it was quite clear the boy wasn't paying much attention. His eyes kept drifting west. _What's out west that has him so distracted? It's mainly just trees and water on that end of Patch._

He tried to rope Oscar back into paying attention by touching him on the shoulder and Oscar practically leaped backward. 

"Are you okay?"

Oscar nodded, eyes drifting away.

Mr. Johnston moved quickly, deciding there was no reason to give an in-depth tour if no one was paying attention. He watched one of Chartreuse's friends, Oz if he remembered correctly, pull him gently in the right direction.

_There was barely even a flinch there. Interesting._

"Classes should be out soon. I think you may like having the chance to meet some of your new teachers."

Oscar didn't even acknowledge him.

"Oscar? Are you sure you're alright?"

"Oscar," Oz spoke calmly, pulling the boy towards him.

The boy panicked, his eyes flashing gold. He immediately moved to put space between them and Oz didn't resist.

"You said your semblance acts up when you don't use it. Do you need to get some energy from your system?"

Oscar nodded, clutching his right wrist.

"Okay. Do what you need to do."

Releasing his arm, Oscar moved his arm in a circle, a green portal appearing. Black mist, like the plumes of a dead Grimm hissed through the portal.

Oscar winced. His right hand was red, and it was dripping down his wrist like a melting strawberry ice cream cone.

"Maybe not there?"

Oscar nodded, putting his hand over the portal and collapsing it.

"Can I choose where to go? Maybe we could go on a little adventure."

"But what if I fail? This could kill you."

Oz didn't answer but simply reached out his hand. Oscar took it.

"Teleport us back to Beacon. That should burn some energy."

Oscar bit his lip. "Teleporting takes time. I don't know how late you'll actually get back."

"It's going to be fine. We'll manage."

"I've never taken someone with me before."

"Do you want to try?"

Oscar hesitated. He checked his scroll before drawing another circle in the air. He peered through the green portal that appeared. The hand that gripped the side of the green portal was covered in little golden flakes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Oz reached out his other hand towards his teammates, and they formed a chain. "Thank you for hosting us, Mr. Johnston. We'll be in touch." He nodded to Oscar, who stepped through the portal.

The group slowly faded into the green light as they each entered the portal.

_What the heck did I just witness?_

* * *

Oscar prayed it was still the same day as before. The moment everyone was safely through, he checked his scroll. "It seems we've only lost a few minutes. Not bad."

"That was an experience." Oz smiled, pulling him into a hug. "Now, I want that scroll number. We're still getting coffee and you're giving me updates."

"Please don't forget me"

"I won't" Oz ruffled his hair.

_You will._

"Promise me you'll stay at Signal and do your best? They really do want to help you."

"I don't make promises I can't keep."

"At least give them a chance?"

"Fine." Oscar nuzzled into Oz's chest.

"You can always come back and say hello, okay? I'll send you our class schedule in a few minutes." Oz added Oscar into his scroll and sent him a message, waiting for it to go through before letting it drop.

"Thank you, for everything."

Oz gave Oscar a quick squeeze. "This isn't' a final goodbye, goofball. I'm expecting you to teleport by sometime."

Oscar hummed in understanding.

"Come by tonight if you don't feel comfortable where you're staying. Otherwise, I want to hear all about your first day at Signal tommorow, okay?"

"Okay."

"Be good, kid."

Oscar didn't want to let go, but Oz loosened the hug and he didn't want Oz to call him out on his quiet tears.

"We're meeting up the moment we're all done with school, kay?" Mallory smiled softly. "We're not getting rid of you, not just yet."

"You're going to like it at Signal Academy, they have a great staff," Chartreuse said.

"Thanks for the lift, kiddo," Violet grinned, ruffling his hair. "Now get back before your portal closes. We're going to see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Oscar stuttered out. _I really hope my tomorrow and your tomorrow line up or this is about to get very confusing._ He set down the black backpack containing the itchy uniform on the floor, rolling his shoulders and re-fixing his posture.

Oz nudged him towards the portal, and Oscar waved before stepping back through.

The moment the portal closed behind him, exhaustion hit him like a brick. He looked into the distance. _The green air is gone. I guess this is my solution strategy, at least for now._

He hadn't noticed he was on the ground until he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Oscar, are you okay?"

He looked up. _It's Mr. Smily. Yep, I'm still here._

"Tired, never pushed my semblance that far. Did work though." Oscar pulled himself to sit up. "So what exactly were we doing, again?"

"Right. I couldn't help but notice you seemed distracted. Maybe we should handle whatever's bugging you first?"

"It was my semblance, so for now I guess it's handled."

"I see. Would you like me to give you a tour again? I'm not sure how much you actually processed."

"Uh, no. I think I'll just ask as things come up."

"Alright. Can I introduce you to some of the staff? They're going to want to know where you're at in the material, especially since the school year has already started."

"I don't see why not."

"You ready to walk?"

Oscar got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Alright. I'll send out a message to the staff and we will be on our way."

"I wouldn't happen to be able to take just the class about weapon building, would I?"

"I don't think that's in your best interest. I do, however, think this is the kind of special circumstance that can get you one-on-one tutoring after school."

"What classes do you expect me to take?"

"Well, we've got fighting lessons, history, weapons, and Grimm. English and math are also required for all students. We also have electives, and I'll let you choose those."

"Right. Any way I can take a minimal schedule? I'm not actually trying to go to school here."

Mr. Johnston chuckled, "well, electives are optional, but we do have a class on semblances. I've yet to meet a single student who didn't want to take the optional classes."

"How much trouble would I be in for missing class?"

"Son, I want to help you, but you've got to give us a chance. Please don't force my hand into making your weapon tutoring dependant on your attendance. Just give me two weeks of trying to work with what I give you, and if you need to drop a mandatory class, we can talk about it then."

"Fine."

"Alright."


	17. Adventures of Team OVCM: Signal Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar meets the staff at Signal Academy and finds yet another temporary home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger warning:**  
>  an existential crisis and a touch of self-hate
> 
> Names of staff (there's a pattern here)  
> \--------------------------------  
> Ms. **E** lliot - **E** nglish  
> Ms. **W** anda - **W** eapons  
> Mr. **F** itz - **F** ighting  
> Mr. **M** artinez- **M** ath
> 
> I'll do my best to stick with this naming scheme. I think it will help everyone keep things straight.  
> (Mr. Johnston is the principal, the naming alliteration idea came after so it was too late. Honestly, it's the only name you really need to remember anyway.)

Oscar had sat through seven interviews at this point, the questions ranging from Grimm to Remnant's history. Something about figuring out his current level of understanding. Oscar didn't care, he was just tired and socially worn out for the day. Honestly, most of the knowledge leaving his mouth wasn't **his** anyway. Just another memory from a face he has never seen. 

_I really wish they would stop staring at me like a gorilla in a cage pointing to stickers after hearing associated words. Like I'm some kind of intelligence experiment._

_If one more person 'oohs' I'm gonna lose it._

"Mr. Pine, you really received this education while being homeschooled in Mistral?" Mr. Johnston's eyes glittered as his head nodded like a flicked bobblehead.

"No, I just hear voices in my head. I guess I'm fortunate they're quite educated and not slowly driving me insane." 

One of the younger teachers scrunched her nose. _She's not gonna get me at all._

Oscar looked to Signal's principle, "Can I get some water? I want to drown them out. I haven't waterboarded myself in a while, it's getting a bit too easy to exist in here."

"Why don't we take a break?" Mr. Johnston smiled all too casually.

_How far can I go before I get told to behave? I'm almost scared to meet the other students here._

_I always wanted to go to school with the other kids, but maybe Aunt Dorathy spared me. I never appreciated her enough._

_Maybe I'll go pay her a visit. Yeah, then I can grab my old clothes. Do those even still fit?_

_Well, I do need clothes and I can't go back to Headmaster Oz yet._

_I need to invest in a notebook to keep track of all the things I need to do. Then I would know what time and date to return to and what to do there._

_That's going on my school supply list._

Mr. Johnston interrupted his thoughts. "I'm beginning to think you were kidding about the water."

Oscar flinched backward in his chair, suddenly feeling the closeness of the older man. "Sorry, I got lost in my own head."

"The voices talking to ya?"

"Just my own, I'm afraid. Thank you," Oscar took the red solo cup of water and took a sip. _I need to eat soon. What time is it?_

"Well, while you were thinking, I believe the staff here made an agreement. You're not behind in your studies, in fact, you're quite ahead. We'd like to give you a chance to prove yourself physically. We're considering placing you in whatever year you are training-wise."

Oscar hummed in understanding. "What time is it?"

"Did you have somewhere to be?"

"No, I'm just tired and kinda hungry. I can do your physical test or whatever, I just kinda wanna ground myself with some sense of time."

"Oscar, have you eaten today?"

"Yeah, I had lunch. I can wait until dinner, it's fine, I just"-

"How long can you wait? An hour? Two? Five?"

"Uhhh, whenever you guys eat is fine?"

"How long has it been since you last ate?"

 _Now that's a good question. We've taken an airship. How long was I asleep? Maybe for an hour? How long was the tour? How long have I been here?_ "I really don't know. It was definitely today though. A few hours, maybe?"

"I think we've got some bagels in the break room to hold you over until dinner."

"Wait, is it that bad?"

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"...No?"

Oscar heard one of the other teachers mention fetching him something and he immediately regretted not being fully attentive when they were introducing themselves. With a sigh, Oscar put his head on his folded arms, letting himself lean semi-comfortably against the desk. 

"I get the feeling he's going to be more of an emotional problem than an academic one," someone he didn't recognize whispered. Oscar just pushed his head harder into his arms.

"When is the last time you slept?" Mr. Johnston brushed his shoulder lightly like he was trying to console a grumpy kitten.

"Last night. I'm fine," Oscar grumbled.

"You don't seem fine, kiddo."

"My semblance just took more out of me than I expected. I'm fine." Oscar raised his head and glared at him. The principal was quick to remove his hand.

"Is it usually like this when you use your semblance?"

"I don't know, I've never used it on other people before."

"Right. You did advance your semblance today. I know we haven't talked about electives yet, but Ms. Green is here if you want to talk about what's going on. It seemed like you had some questions about it."

"Forgive me, but I think it's best I don't get other people involved. I'll figure it out as I go."

"Are you sure? Sometimes it helps to-"

"No thank you," Oscar's eyes lit gold as he stared intensely at the overly smiling face that was perched in front of him.

 _That wiped off the smile._ Mr. Johnston shifted into a more serious posture, his eyes crinkling in his scrutiny. "If you're sure."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to do the physical test. You haven't answered my question about the time so I am going to declare the time after this as naptime."

"My apologies, Oscar. It's three-thirty in the afternoon."

_Wait, what? It's not even four yet? I could have sworn it was later than that._

* * *

Mr. Johnston grit his teeth under his smile. _Oscar really had no idea what time it was. How is he doing so well on these placement tests? He must be a prodigy!_

_He did mention sometimes teleporting took away time. Perhaps he's really traveling through spacetime and not just space. I wish I could convince him to talk about his semblance, but I suppose some things just take time._

Mr. Johnston stood up, "Why don't we finish this testing tomorrow. I think it may be best to get some rest and maybe get some supplies. I think it's best to focus what energy you have left on acclimating to where you'll be sleeping tonight."

"What does this physical test entail? I'd almost rather get it over with."

"I doubt you'd perform at your best, Oscar. This is a placement test."

"If this is an aura test, then yes, I suppose it will have to wait until tomorrow. But if this is a skill test, then let's get it done now. If I can't do it when I am a little bit tired or hungry, then I need to work on it anyway."

"No one is expected to perform well when their body isn't at its best."

"You haven't met my life, sir. Besides, I'm always a bit tired and hungry," Oscar stood up, his head well below the principal's shoulders, his posture perfect.

"We can start today, and if you'd like to do it again tomorrow, I'm sure we can work that out."

"Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"Well, normally we have the fighting class teacher, Mr. Fitz, do the exam, but since you might want to try again tomorrow, I think we should have our weapons instructor, Ms. Wanda, conduct it."

"Okay."

Ms. Wanda, a muscular woman not much taller than Oscar stepped out from the lineup of adults in the room.

"Word is you're interested in making a weapon."

"The word would be correct then."

"Oh? Got something in mind?"

"A cane. Blunt, lightweight, retractable."

"For someone who came all the way here to build a weapon, I figured you'd be a bit more creative."

"I'm not working from scratch. I have trained off a cane and I'd like to replicate it. At least get the weighting close."

"Oh? So if I threw you a cane right now, you could fight with it?"

"Probably? I've never done that before."

"Do you know where you are?"

Oscar looked around. 

_I told Oscar I was taking him to the weapon's classroom as I thought it would pique his interest. Did he really miss that?_

"You're in the weapon's classroom. This is where we forge weapons. I believe this is where I will be tutoring you."

"Oh. I hadn't realized."

"I've got sample weapons for students who want to test things out. I'm not sure I've got a cane, but we may be able to get a feel for your style with a pipe. I've got lots of metal rods and things we could fight with."

"Okay."

"But first, prove to me you can handle a weapon. Spar me."

"Sure. We should probably move to a more spacious area first."

"Why?"

"I don't want to break your desk?"

Ms. Wanda chuckled, "I've got a designated space, come along."

Oscar followed her but left some space between them as he walked. _What does he think she is going to do, surprise attack him? This is a placement exam. I think I need to get a better understanding of Oscar's trauma if I'm going to be able to help him._

_He did mention panic attacks when talking about medical issues earlier. We definitely need a plan in place before that shows up._

Ms. Green took a basic fighting stance, "are you ready?"

"Let's do this," Oscar replied, putting up his own guard. 

Mr. Johnston took a seat next to Mr. Fitz, who had out a notebook. 

The spar was pretty on par with a typical Signal student, leaning a bit on the advanced side. There were clear signs of training, and the kid could hold his own decently well. Nothing extraordinary, but that was to be expected. The principle glanced at the fighting instructor's notes:

>   * Creative
>   * Restraint
>   * Trained to fight people, not Grimm
>   * Non-formal education
>   * Unorthadox methods
>   * Strategic opportunist
> 


_I certainly hope Oscar wasn't training to be an assassin, but I can't rule out the possibility._

_Hmmm, now watching him fight, he certainly does fight like his opponent will kill him at the first opportunity. That isn't typical._

_Normally I would reject a student like this based on psychological patterns, but perhaps his story will put things into perspective. He certainly is one to keep an eye out for._

_What a fascinating day._

Ms. Wanda timed them out after receiving the signal from Mr. Fitz. "Let's see what damage you do with a weapon, yeah?"

"Sure."

She disappeared into the back of her workshop.

_He must be exhausted. How is he still standing so poised? I can see his posture start to sink, but he's not making any move to stop._

She handed him a metal pipe, and Oscar gave it a few practice swings.

"It's different than what I'm used to, but I can make it work." Oscar was short of breath but made no move to stop.

Even if it was different than what he was used to, Oscar's skills skyrocketed with a weapon. _He could most definitely blend in with beginning first-year Beacon students. Fascinating._

After a few minutes, Mr. Fitz signaled them to stop. "I think I've got all the notes I need."

* * *

Oscar forced in a sigh of relief. _I didn't think I was that tired. My aura nearly broke at the end. That would have been embarrassing._

"Bagel?" An older woman extended an arm to him. 

Oscar wanted to protest, but he knew he needed food so he accepted with a quiet thank you. She led him back to the desk he was in before.

"The grown-ups are going to want to talk about your schedule and such so let's let them have fun, alright?"

Oscar just sat down and ate quietly.

"How are you feeling?"

Oscar took another bite, not knowing how to answer. It was obvious he wasn't fine, but he didn't want to get into it.

"I think you'll be staying with Mr. Johnston. Is that going to be alright?"

Oscar nodded, knowing he couldn't reject the wishes of Principal Smiley. 

"I'm excited to have you in my class tomorrow, Oscar."

"What do you teach again?"

"English. I'm the only one at this school so you're guaranteed to have me."

Oscar hummed but continued to chew.

"We're going to get some supplies for you to have tomorrow morning. Do you have a favorite color? If we're going to find you folders and notebooks, we might as well get them in fun colors."

"Any color is fine."

"Alright. College or standard paper?"

"What's the difference?"

"How big the lines are. I'll just get standard."

"Okay."

"I'll have a backpack ready to go tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Sure. Just one thing, do you think you could find me a tiny notepad? Something pocket-sized?"

"Of course. Any reason?"

"I'm thinking of using it as an agenda, but I'd rather not have one of those fancy books with dates and a calendar, ya know? Just a small thing of paper I can keep on me."

"That's rather responsible of you."

Oscar took another bite, not really knowing if he should be thankful for the compliment or upset that she didn't think he could behave responsibly before.

"Looks like the others are back. Are you excited?"

"What's your name, again?"

"Ms. Elliot."

"Thank you for the bagel, Ms. Elliot."

"Of course." She smiled at him.

Oscar ate the last bite of his bagel.

* * *

Mr. Johnston looked to his staff. They seemed relatively pleased with Oscar's new schedule.

"Any final questions before I take Oscar home?"

No one spoke up.

"Good. I am trusting everyone to work together to make this as smooth of a transition as possible."

"Actually, sir," Mr. Martinez said, "are you sure it's a good idea to put him in the top classes for everything? Once he graduates from here, he won't be able to apply for Beacon from the age limit. Shouldn't we just put him with the others his own age?"

"Excellent question. Although we hardly know anything about the boy yet, I have a good feeling that the headmaster will allow for early admission. He absolutely loves a prodigy. If Oscar isn't as ready as we think, we will simply move him down to his own age group."

With no further questions, the herd of humans left to meet Oscar and Ms. Elliot.

* * *

It wasn't a long car ride before Oscar found himself in front of a small house. Mr. Johnston showed him around, but Oscar was just happy to sit on the bed he would be using in this temporary home. 

The moment he was left alone to adjust, he made quick work of moving all the valuables and breakables into the closet. _I have too much of a history of breaking things in my sleep. What do I do if my magic spazzes again? There's no Glynda to fix things._

_I suppose I'll have better control once I am rested._

Although it was hardly four-thirty in the afternoon, Oscar found himself discarding his coat and shoes and climbing into bed.

* * *

Mr. Johnston knocked on the guest room door, but Oscar didn't respond. He opened the door slightly and peeked in, before deeming it safe to step inside.

_What happened here? Did he teleport things away? Where did the lamp go?_

His eyes fell on Oscar's sleeping form.

_He must have been more tired than I realized. I better have dinner ready when he wakes up- I'll get him on a regular schedule eventually._

Leaving Oscar to rest, the principal closed the door and got dinner cooking on the stove.

He ended up waking up a delirious Oscar when food was ready.

_Did he sleep in his gear? Crap, I didn't realize he doesn't have clothes._

_I need to find him something to wear tonight so we can wash his clothes for tomorrow._

Oscar came to the table and ate quietly. Mr. Johnston made no move to press the exhausted child. 

He scavenged his room for drawstring sweatpants and a loose shirt and left them on Oscar's bed as he showed him where to find a toothbrush and soap.

_For how chatty he was earlier, I'm not sure I like this silence very much. It's disturbing._

Oscar went to bed quickly.

* * *

Oscar woke up with a start. 

It was barely four in the morning. He didn't know the house well enough to adventure out to find water so he settled on laying there in his own sweat, watching speckles of his foggy vision dance across the room.

He dreaded waking up and dealing with school and the other monstrous teens but he dreaded going back to sleep more.

He settled for watching the ceiling fan swirl above him until five in the morning when he deemed was time to get ready for school. _When does school start? Seven? Nine?_

_They didn't exactly give me a schedule._

_It was dumb of me not to ask._

_I hate this._

Oscar got ready for the day and settled for training in his room until Mr. Johnston woke up.

* * *

Mr. Johnston's alarm went off at seven. He blearily rolled out of bed, thwacking the alarm clock as he went.

_I'm not waking up Oscar until I've had a cup of coffee._

He opened the door to his room and immediately spotted Oscar's freckled face poking out from behind the guest room door.

_Nevermind._

_My alarm must have woken him up. Well, at least that makes my job easier._

He waved at Oscar, "good morning."

"Salutations."

"I'm going to make coffee, you want some?"

"No thanks. I can give you a moment, I was just wondering what the noise was."

"It's alright. I don't mind mornings as much as I used to. How long have you been up?"

"A bit. I went to bed early."

"You got a time on that?"

Oscar stepped out of his room and Mr. Johnston could now see that he was fully dressed in the gear he had washed last night. "Long enough to be ready. I thought school started early."

"We start at eight-thirty. Would you be ready to leave here by eight?"

"Sure."

"Come on, let's find breakfast." 

The principal and Oscar headed to the kitchen. Mr. Johnston was swift to make his coffee. Oscar offered to make eggs, and Mr. Johnston obliged out of curiosity. He went outside to get the morning paper and settled down at the table. Oscar handed him a plate of steaming eggs.

"Why thank you, Oscar. It was very kind of you to make breakfast."

"Thank you for hosting me here, sir."

"Are you up for chatting about some things? I know it's morning but there are some things we need to discuss."

"That's fine, sir. I was wondering about how school was going to work myself."

"Alright, let me talk you through your schedule."

* * *

Oscar listened intently as the principal explained his schedule. _These don't sound like first-year Signal student classes. I hope this isn't too hard._

_Maybe this was a bad idea._

_Who am I kidding, of course this is a bad idea! I'm altering history! This is wild and insane and I have no idea how any of this is legal._

_Is it legal? Is time traveling illegal?_

_I suppose there are no explicit laws, but if there were, how would you enforce them?_

"Oscar?"

Oscar snapped awake, "I'm sorry I zoned. What?"

"I was asking you about your history of panic attacks. I know this is stressful for you, especially since this is a new environment, but that's exactly why we should be prepared."

"They happen quite randomly, sir. I'm not sure there's much you can do."

"Is there anything you'd like us to do if you have one? Any strategy to calm you down we should know about?"

"Get out of the way? Run?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Hopefully, you never do."

The principal smiled in response and complimented the eggs.

_That smile has to be fake. Is it his coping mechanism or something? How can someone smile so much?_

_Is that normal? Was I ever like that?_

_What's it like to be happy?_

_Was I like that before a voice showed up in my head? Was Ruby like that before Beacon fell?_

_Why does seeing him being happy annoy me so much? Why can't I just be okay with the fact that other people are happy?_

_Why am I not happy? Why don't I smile more? I can just time travel away from all my problems, I have all the time in the world._

_So why am I so unhappy?_

* * *

Mr. Johnston did his best to not be peeved at how little attention Oscar was giving him. _This kid has zero focus. Does he have ADHD? Might be worth looking into._

_Either that or whatever is on his mind is particularly fascinating to think about._

_I'm just not quite sure how well we can handle him swinging between temperamental and zoned out. This isn't going to be fun._

_Perhaps I should make him see one of the school's counselors. See if they can get anything out of him._

_Perhaps he is just nervous?_

The principal proceeded to get ready for the day, leaving with a silent Oscar at eight. 

_Another day at work, here I come!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone has had a happy holiday season! Happy 2021, everyone! <3


	18. First Day of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar arrives at Signal Academy (well into the past) and experiences his first day of classes. Things don't go very well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning:  
> \- Oscar goes into a spiral of self-depreciation  
> \- **Anxiety Attack**  
>  \- Self-harm (not the bleeding kind, just persistent dull pain from intentionally putting too much pressure on something)
> 
> **Out of courtesy I am labeling the anxiety attack (self-harm bits are a part of this) before and after it happens so you can skip it.**

The teachers had all mentioned him as a new student to the class, and so Oscar had yet to say a word for himself. He had just waved shyly and pretended to care.

During the first class of the day, Oscar had taken a moment to get familiar with the contents inside the plain black backpack he was provided. There were two spiral notebooks and a binder with paper in it. He had taken advantage of the tabs in the binder, not yet wanting to use the spiral journals in case one of the remaining classes needed them.

It was only the third class in, and Oscar was exhausted. He resorted to pulling out his brand new pocket notebook and began writing out a timeline of places he had been instead of taking notes. Oscar had no clue if anyone had even noticed if he was paying attention, and some part of him was okay with that. 

It wasn't until they broke for lunch that Oscar realized how important the social element of school was. He didn't have lunch money, and he didn't want to ask if lunch was free so he opted to sit in a corner and start forming a to-do list. 

"It's Oscar, right?"

Oscar looked up to see someone in a beautiful purple cloak standing over him.

"Yeah, I'm Oscar. What's your name?"

"I'm Dale," he said, "would you like to come sit with us?"

"Uhh, sure."

Oscar quickly re-packed his backpack and followed him to a table. There were other kids around them, all of them had lunch trays or lunchboxes. 

"Oh wait, did you want me to show you how to go through the lunch line? I just realized you don't have food yet."

"It's okay. I suppose it's the nerves, but I don't really feel like getting lunch."

"First days are hard, I get that. Well, if you think you can stomach a bite or two later, I'll end up saving my apple so just poke me and it's yours, kay?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks."

They sat at the table. There were two other people already there, a girl with two braids, each tied off with a different color ribbon, and a boy with spiky blonde hair.

"Yooooo, you scored the new kid," the boy grinned.

"Isaac, be cool. Guys, this is Oscar. Oscar, this is Isaac and Petunia," said Dale.

"So Dale, what did you have to do to get the new kid to sit with us?" Petunia bit into her sandwich.

"I just asked nicely."

"Oh come on," Isaac leaned in, "there's no way that's it. Oscar, he didn't threaten you, did he?"

"What? No. He just asked if I wanted to sit with him." Oscar shrugged, fiddling his thumbs.

"And you said yes? Just like that?"

"Yes?"

"Wow. Do you not know who you are?"

Oscar stared dumbly at Isaac. _Is he trying to make me have an existential crisis this soon in the day?_

"Dude, you're literally like the talk of the hour. Heck, even Jade is jealous of how much attention you're getting."

"Jade?"

"The most popular girl in school? Surely you've noticed her, she's the hottest girl here."

Oscar just blinked, not knowing how to respond to that. 

"Good lord, dude, you don't have to play dumb. I get that you're going for aloof and mysterious, but like, **dude**."

"Honestly, I haven't been paying attention to the people around me. There are too many of them. It's a bit overwhelming."

"Seriously? My man, you can't just tell me that you just swept into top-class in the middle of the school year and you're not doing it for attention."

"It's more circumstantial. Honestly, I doubt I'll be here long."

"Wait, are you a transfer student? It's cool, we can keep a secret."

"No, I've never actually been to school before."

"Legit?"

"Yeah?"

Petunia snorted, "oh my gods, he's literally just a shy nerd. Boy, you've got the whole campus fooled."

"It wasn't intentional?"

The three regular students shared a snicker and Oscar really wished he had something to fidget with.

"So what were you up to? You looked like you were writing something when I invited you over here," said Dale.

"I was working on something."

"Well, don't let us stop you."

_I can't show them my to-do list. How would they react if they saw that I needed to pick up clothes? These people think I'm a superstar or something, I should probably take advantage of that, at least for a little bit._

_Maybe I should start working on my cane._

Deciding it would give his hands something to do, Oscar pulled out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and set to work. He hadn't intentionally zoned the room out, but trying to focus on the memory of the original design took more effort than he wanted to admit. He set to sketching.

He didn't pause until he felt a hand land on his shoulder, and he practically jumped at the touch.

"Holy smokes, man, that looks super cool," Oscar turned to Dale who was looking over his shoulder.

Oscar stared at him until he removed his hand and backed away. Oscar examined his work so far.

"I'm not done yet, hold on."

"Alright, you do you, little man."

Oscar twirled his pencil in his hand, going back to the retracting mechanism. The drawings flowed from his pencil as if he was watching a video and not actually doing any of the work. 

A horrendous bell sound echoed through the room and Oscar scratched a line across his paper, luckily away from the section he was working on.

"You good? You really got sucked into your drawing there," Dale looked over to him.

The entire cafeteria was in motion, people scattering every which way. 

"Sorry, I guess I lost track of time." Oscar hurriedly shoved the papers into a folder and then into his backpack.

"Hey man, it's all good. You wanna walk to class together?"

"Oh, we have the same classes?"

"Probably? We've had every other class together."

Oscar pulled the folded piece of paper out of his pocket and showed it to him.

"Uhhh yeah, we have all the same core classes. A lot of us do. Sometimes there's an occasional kid that skipped a level, but it's unlikely. Come on, I'll walk you there."

Oscar folded the paper back up and followed the trio to class. He sat behind them, wondering how long he had to pay attention before zoning out again.

It was a math class, and Oscar recognized the teacher. She gave him a shoutout and he waved, beginning the countdown to when he could stop caring. 

He was in the past, it's not like his grades actually mattered. No one would ever know he was here, nor would they ever care that he was a bad student. He would be jumping forward in time to fight in a war, it wasn't like that required a background check.

He watched the teacher, Mr. Martinez, talk about polynomials and was quick to decide he didn't care. He went back to working on his to-do list knowing it would look the same as writing notes from the front of the room.

He zoned back in when he heard incessant giggling, and after a quick scan of the room, it was clear to see that all students were looking at him. Heart pounding, he looked up to the teacher, who was glaring at him.

"Have you any idea what I've said, Mr. Pine?" Mr. Martinez scowled.

"No," he responded honestly.

"And why is that?"

"I've got other things on my mind and they are making it quite difficult to pay attention. I figured if I wrote them down, I would be able to stay focused on what's going on and not what's in my head."

"And you didn't think to do this earlier?"

"I have been. It's just a lot to write out."

"Give me one reason not to send you to the principal's office for disrupting my class."

Oscar contemplated this. "Perhaps I should go to the principal's office while I do this."

"I get that you're new, but I want you to know that I will not tolerate this behavior in my class."

"Speaking honestly?"

"Speaking back."

"Oh. I can't blame you for that, I've never been one for conversations either. Honestly, understanding people is exhausting."

"Okay, that's enough. I'm sending you to the principal's office."

"Good?"

Oscar packed his things and took the note from the teacher and left. _If I walk fast, I may still be able to finish this and start fresh for the next class._

* * *

The principal, Mr. Johnston, was extremely confused to find Oscar outside of his office door at the beginning of fourth period. _What has the child done now?_

"What happened?"

"I couldn't focus and I decided to write down all the things I'm thinking about so I wasn't so distracted and Mr. Martinez sent me here because he thought this would be a more appropriate place to do it. I hope you don't mind, he gave me a note."

He looked over it, "Oscar, this is a referral."

"Uh-huh."

"He said you were disrupting his class?"

"Yeah, because I wasn't paying attention. I'm honestly surprised he noticed, I was being very quiet about it."

"I see. Can you show me what you were writing?"

"I'm not finished yet."

"Think of it as evidence that you weren't lying."

Oscar raised an eyebrow, but sat down and pulled out his binder, handing the principal the list.

>   * Get clothes
>   * Find out if lunch is free
>   * Make new friends?
>   * Figure out a way to make money - ask Oz? maybe a small grimm job?
>   * Check in with Oz
>   * Finish updating new scroll
>   * Finish designing new cane
>   * Find out who Jade is
>   * Practice 
> 


_Good heavens, did he not eat lunch today? Shoot, I completely forgot to give him lunch money this morning. I need to make note to do that._

"This is quite the list, Oscar."

"Can I finish so I can go back to class?"

"I think it may be best for you to stay here for the rest of the period."

"Oh."

"Why don't I let you finish and then you can show me when you're done, yeah?"

"Do I have to show you? I'd like to include some more... personal things."

"No, you don't have to. But I'd really appreciate it if you did."

Oscar nodded, pulling his binder into his lap and writing on it as a hard surface.

Mr. Johnston returned to his email before switching back to the document he had been working on earlier that morning. 

Eventually, he heard the snap of the binder and he glanced over to Oscar as he put the paper away.

"You really don't want to show me?"

Oscar shook his head no, pulling out another paper from the binder and setting it on the desk. "I think I'll just keep working on the cane design until next period if you don't mind."

"Am I allowed to see that?"

"Sure. Here's what I've got so far."

It was quite impressive, especially for the technical drawing of a fifteen-year-old. "That looks quite professional."

"Thank you." Oscar turned the paper back towards himself and continued to draw.

The principal watched for a moment before going back to what he was doing before.

Once there were ten minutes remaining before the next period, he stopped Oscar. "Why don't you pack up and then we can talk, alright?"

Oscar packed up quickly and looked to Mr. Johnston obediently.

"Okay. Are you going to be able to pay attention in class now?"

"I'll do my best, although I must admit it's quite boring. I don't think I like sitting still all day."

Mr. Johnston chuckled, "well that can be understood. Fifth period should be fighting class for you so that shouldn't be a problem."

"You know my schedule?"

"You're in the top-level here at Signal Academy. At our school, there's five levels. Your group ends the day with fighting class, while our entry-level students begin their day with fighting class. All classes after fifth period are electives, and I took the liberty of signing you up for weapon's class."

"Oh. Okay."

"Are you ready for fighting class? I have the feeling you didn't eat lunch. I wouldn't like a repeat of yesterday."

"Was I that bad?"

"No, you were fine. I just don't want you fainting on us."

"I'm okay."

"Promise?"

"I shouldn't faint from hunger, sir."

"Alright. I'm going to write you a note that says you're allowed to take it easy and acclimate to your new surroundings, okay? That way if you're not feeling up for it, you already have permission to get out of the day's activities." Mr. Johnston jotted words down on a sticky note and handed it to Oscar.

"Thank you, sir."

"Do you know where you're going?"

"I'll find it easily enough, I'm sure. But thank you."

"Okay then. The bell should ring in a moment, why don't you get a head start on finding your next class?"

Oscar said a simple goodbye before leaving the office and made his way towards where his intuition was telling him to go.

* * *

Oscar found himself practically to the door by the time the bell rang. He decided to wait for other people to enter the classroom before he did to minimize the number of questions he was asked. 

"If it isn't Oscar Pine, the talk of the day," a young woman with electric pink hair stood before him, arms crossed and hip popped.

"Hi. Who might you be?"

"Pshh, you don't have the right to ask me my name."

"Okay? Are you in this class too?"

"What do you think, dum-dum?"

"Yes?"

"Uh-huh. And don't you forget it." She flipped her hair and entered the classroom.

Oscar stared after her bewildered.

"I told you she was hot," the familiar voice of Isaac rang out.

"That was Jade?"

"Duh."

"Oh. Okay. Shall we go inside now?"

"Uh, first you gotta tell us how things blew over with the principal, dude!"

"Um, it was nice? He's very friendly."

"Bro come on, don't play soft with us, how deep are you in?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"What did he do to you, bro? Call your parents? Threaten to suspend you?"

"No, we just sat there. I got some more progress on the cane design, so that's good."

"Dude, what?"

"I don't know what you think happened, but I think you have the wrong idea. Maybe let's just go inside?"

Isaac gaped his jaw and Oscar shuffled into the classroom awkwardly.

"Mr. Pine!" The deep voice of Mr. Fitz rang out. "Would you like to get re-tested? Surely these classes were a bit beyond your grasp, I can see to it that you are put in lower-level courses."

"Actually, I'm okay sir, but thank you for the offer."

"Oh yeah? So you'd be willing to spar someone today?"

"Uh sure? But can I not go first? I kinda want to get a grasp of the proceedings, I've never been in a class like this before."

"Sure thing. If you feel intimidated let me know."

"Okay."

_I've faced down the headmaster from Haven. I've fought Hazel. Heck, I'm friends with team RWBY and team JNPR! I've worked with Qrow._

_Honestly, I'd love to see a bunch of older teenagers intimidate me. It'd be almost inspirational to see someone my size kicking butt for a change, besides Ruby of course. That girl is incredible._

Oscar took the moment to look around the classroom, taking in the different people. Jade seemed to be the only one with unnatural hair color, and most students had a similar color scheme in their combat gear.

_That fabric color must have been on sale when people were designing their gear._

Something else was off about the students, but Oscar couldn't put his finger on it.

Two students were called up to the stage, Oscar didn't recognize either of them. Their fight was similar to watching Nora and Ren spar, or even Wiess and Blake.

_Oh my goodness, there's no fanus! That's what's weird. Holy crap, how did I not see that?_

The fight ended and someone was declared the winner. From what Oscar had gathered, semblances and weapons were allowed, so he would be significantly disadvantaged. But he was used to that.

Besides, it didn't matter if he won. It didn't matter if they moved him to a lower level. He just needed to build that cane. 

"Are you ready, Mr. PIne?" Mr. Fitz called out to him.

"I suppose so. Do I need a weapon or something? It seemed like they were using weapons."

"Do you have a weapon?"

"Not yet."

"Then will you be using a weapon?"

"I dunno, I asked you first."

"Just get up here, Mr. Pine. And as for your opponent," the teacher scanned the room. "Ms. Birch," there was a glint in his eye and a smirk that made Oscar's stomach stir, "why don't you come down."

Oscar heard Jade laugh as she flipped her pink hair, "Oh come on Mr. Fitz, don't you think that's overkill? Babyface doesn't even have a weapon."

"Mr. Pine needs to know how to fight without a weapon, anyway. Besides, it'll be less embarrassing for him to lose so miserably because people expect that from you."

"Whatever you need, sir."

She stood up, holding a glinting black mace on a chain with electric pink stripes.

Oscar watched her approach from the stage, "I like your weapon, m'lady."

"Excuse me? What did you just call me?"

"Well, last I checked I didn't have the privilege to your name yet. Copying from the teacher feels like cheating. Perhaps I can earn it?"

"Are you flirting with me?"

"No, just trying to make conversation and failing quite miserably at it."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"Honestly, I like red better than pink."

"Red like the blood that's about to be spilling from you when I crack you open like an egg?"

"Yeah, that's the shade actually. But this is a spar, so I doubt we will actually be seeing any blood today."

"Do you think you're clever or something?"

"No. Honestly, I'm amazed to find myself awake and kicking each morning."

"Tsk." Jade took her place on the stage and assumed a fighting stance.

"So what are the rules, exactly?"

Mr. Fitz simply responded with, "begin."

_Good to know safety is important here. A lot must have changed in the next few years. Oz really did a lot of good. Huh._

_I don't think Oz would ever put someone he knew next to nothing about in a perilous situation and call it training. He's cautious. He must have added a lot of safety regulations. He's probably saved a lot of student's lives for it._

Jade was quick to charge in, and Oscar decided it was in his best interest to play defensively until he knew what was going on. Jade made big swings, and Oscar intentionally didn't take the opportunity to attack, letting her build up her momentum.

After a good fifteen seconds of long heavy swings, Oscar seized the buildup, punching her firmly in the opening on her side. He flipped backward before she could crash a swing down at him.

Heavy weapons do a lot of damage, but it is very difficult to get them to change directions, which worked quite well to Oscar's strength: agility. She turned around and started swinging again.

_I wonder if I can use the momentum from her swings to knock her weapon out of her hand._

Oscar kept Jade slowly following him in a circle pattern, watching carefully as her infinity-shaped swings slowly sped up.

"What? Scared to attack me because you don't a weapon yet?"

Oscar smirked, seizing the moment to kick her hands, loosing up her grip on the handle so her mace went flying. 

Jade gasped, her body tensing from the surprise.

_Has no one really done that before?_

She growled, dropping into a new stance.

Oscar took the initiative and charged at her with his right fist clearly raised. She smirked and moved to counter his clear punch. Oscar veered left, diving for her discarded weapon, using a front handspring to pull himself back on his feet, mace in hand.

He could see the panic light up across her face.

"What? Scared because you don't have a weapon?"

"That's not fair! You can't do that!"

"Why not? You were fighting me without a weapon."

"Yeah, but you're not allowed to take mine!"

"Why not? You dropped it."

"You made me drop it!"

"That sounds like a 'you' problem."

"My weapon is out of bounds, you can't use it! Mr. Fitz, that's against the rules."

"You mean the rules I asked about before the match? You can't hold to them if you didn't tell me them."

"It's common knowledge!"

"Just because it's common doesn't mean everyone has it."

"This is illegal, I win by default."

Oscar looked to the teacher who just nodded. He huffed, "well fine. I won't use it. Happy?"

Jade scoffed as Oscar set down the weapon and walked back towards the center of the stage. They circled each other until Jade made a break for her weapon.

Oscar looked at her dumbfounded, "are you kidding me?"

"Awww, what? This is totally fair game."

"Lying is fair game? You said the weapon was out of bounds."

"All is fair in war."

"This isn't war, this is sparring."

"I don't care how much you wine about it. I tricked you! You're so gullible."

"Oh. Okay. Forgive me for wanting to be respectful about the rules and culture I don't know much about. Just know that won't work twice."

"Pshh. Of course, it will. Boys are dumb."

 _I'll show you who's dumb, brat._ Oscar took a stance and accepted her challenge. 

Jade charged in, mace in full swing.

Oscar reached into the air and grabbed a green wisp. _This will do._ He dropped down into a low dodge, painting her arm with a solid green stroke before rolling out of her reach. 

Feeling it, Jade looked down to her arm and let out a gasp. "What did you just do to me?"

"Poison damage."

"What?"

"All is fair in war."

"You can't poison me, that will kill me!"

"If you're scared, you could always surrender. The match would be over and it would be rude of me to not undo anything long term with my semblance."

"This is attempted murder!"

Oscar shrugged at her, keeping his expression neutral and impassive.

She looked at his cold expression, and shouted, "I surrender!"

Mr. Fitz called the match.

Oscar smirked, "you're not poisoned, Jade. That would be illegal. You see, what I did was use this expert technique called lying. It only works on the gullible."

"You can't do that!"

"All is fair in war."

"Well undo whatever it is. It hurts."

 _It does?_ Oscar walked over to her, touching the green stripe of paint and peeling it off.

"Oh my god, what is that? Your gloves just turned green."

"Wait, your arm didn't look green to you?"

"No, I could just feel it there. What is it?"

 _What is it? I don't know._ "I don't have to tell you anything. If you're as smart as they say you are, figure it out." 

Mr. Fitz made his way in between the two teens. "Oscar Pine, what you just did is not something we will tolerate in this class."

"What? I thought lying and manipulating your opponent was fine. I mean, she had a weapon and I didn't and that was cool. Why can't I pretend to have poisoned her? Semblances are fair game, and it's not like I actually hurt her."

"You threatened to kill her."

"If my semblance was really poison, why would I use it in a friendly sparring match? Do you really think I would kill someone for lying about the rules?"

"You didn't seem to react very well to her trick. How am I supposed to know how far you are willing to go?"

"Sir, if you genuinely thought I poisoned her, why didn't you call the match immediately after I said that?"

"I was told your semblance was teleportation of sorts."

"Uh-huh. And since you weren't worried that I actually poisoned her, she should have known I was bluffing since you didn't immediately call the match."

"But you still could have poisoned her through other means."

"You think I brought poison to school? Like in a jar? Seriously?"

"I don't know anything about you, Mr. Pine."

"Seriously? Why would I poison some random kid on my first day of school?"

"Why threaten that you poisoned her at all then?"

"I was bluffing, just like she did! What's the difference?"

"Because what she did gave her back her weapon. What you did threatened her life. Do you really not see the difference, Mr. Pine?"

Oscar found himself glaring at the professor, "just declare pretty in pink the winner and be happy." Oscar rolled his eyes and walked off the stage.

_Okay, perhaps I was a bit too extreme. But I'm not too sure I care. I mean, if he knew I was bluffing, why should I get into trouble?_

_He put me against the top student in the highest level of class to make me look bad, and just for good measure gave her a weapon. They don't care if the playing ground wasn't equal. He doesn't care at all that she lied about the rules. They didn't tell me the rules._

_If this was the real world, I would have had her weapon and used that against her. I would have never resorted to bluffing._

_If there was no weapon at all and we were just doing hand to hand, she wouldn't have lied about the rules._

_Yeah, I escalated it. But I don't take the blame that this got out of hand, this was set up to end poorly. I shouldn't have brought up poison, but even then._

_Is what I did really that bad?_

_I feel like they were going to come after me no matter what I did. I probably shouldn't have given them an excuse for it._

Oscar sat back in his chair, picking up his backpack and putting it into his lap.

_I shouldn't have sunk to her level._

_I shouldn't have had to deal with that._

_Maybe I should've just used the excuse to not do this today. I don't want to deal with this anymore. I just feel like everyone is out to get me and I don't know why._

_Maybe I'm just spiraling._

_Is what she did really that bad?_

_Maybe the rule is you can pick up your own weapon but you can't pick up someone else's. Maybe this is all on me._

_Maybe I just didn't get enough sleep._

_Maybe I should just leave. Go home, take a nap. This was a terrible idea, I can't do this without Oz._

_I'm nothing if I don't have a voice in my head telling me what to do. No wonder everyone always wanted him to take over so they could talk to him. I'm a mess. Why would anyone want to talk to me?_

_I bet Oz wouldn't have let me do something so stupid. He would have stopped me._

Oscar closed his eyes, pulling his backpack into a hug, resting his head across the top of the binders.

"For someone who worked so hard to win, you'd think he'd be handling it better." Oscar heard the whispers of some boy behind him.

"Yeah. Dude's messed up. You think that means that we're getting today off?"

Oscar wanted to turn around and screech at them. Make them stop talking. But he didn't trust himself to open his eyes.

"Yo, I hope. I mean, Jade is still on stage, and if she keeps throwing that tantrum we might even get to go to one of those school-wide 'be nice' lectures tomorrow."

"Dude, if this gets us out of that history quiz tomorrow this is gonna be so worth it."

"Oh my gosh, I totally haven't studied for that. You really think Jade can get us out of it?"

"Just look at her, she looks like she's hysterical."

"That kid totally got her too. Bet she's gonna cry like a little girl."

"Dang, now I kinda wanna see it."

Oscar was tempted to open his eyes, maybe see what was happening. _Should I apologize? That would be admitting that what I did was wrong. Was it?_

_What if this is what she wants? Me to admit that I was wrong so she can say she won because I cheated._

_Is it worth it?_

"Oscar," Mr. Johnston's principal voice was activated, and Oscar felt the sound ripple through his body.

His face felt hot and his stomach churned. A dull ache formed under his ribs. His fingers felt numb and he forced himself to swallow, even though he hadn't felt anything try to creep it's way up. There was a burn behind his eyes, and he wanted to cry and scream because it was overwhelming. He wanted to disappear. 

"I need you to get up. You're coming with me to my office. Okay?"

Oscar felt a powerful churn in his stomach. His teeth clenched and he instinctively squeezed his backpack, feeling his muscles lock into place. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

"Oscar, can you hear me?"

He could, but responding sounded too scary so he didn't.

"Oscar Pine, are you okay?"

**\- Trigger Warning: anxiety attack starts here -**

The principal touched his shoulder and Oscar's mind flooded like a waterfall. He felt a tear escape and it hurt to breathe. He choked in a breath and his lungs froze in place. They didn't let him exhale, but he did and it came out in short waves. He gasped in air. He turned his head so that he was facing the backpack, smothering his face into it.

His forehead was pinned to the corner of a binder and it poked into him, but he could feel something so he focused on it. He pushed his head into it and **it hurt** and something in him welcomed the dull pain. Another chopped breath left him and he could feel himself tremble.

He squeezed himself tighter into a ball, and his choked breaths trapped right under his chin, and he could feel his sweat cling to his underarms like moist ice, and it felt so wrong, and he wanted it to go away, and he wanted it to stop, but it didn't, and he forced himself to exhale, and when he tried to inhale it was stuck, but he forced air in through choked sobs, and he pushed his head onto the binder, and it hurt, but it felt **right** , and his lungs burned from being closed, so he gasped for air in short burst, and he thought he heard his name, and it suddenly felt very very warm, and Oscar was sure he heard his name this time, so he tried to speak but nothing came out but a whistle of air, and it felt good to scream silently, so he continued until his voice cracked into a squeal, and his heart kept thudding, and he gasped for air like he was dying, and some part of him felt like he was dying. 

"Breathe with me, okay?" A voice instructed Oscar, it was female and it was familiar. He trusted it.

He attempted to breathe on her counts, but it was hard. Breathing was just too hard, and he wanted to stop trying, and he felt like his lungs were always empty as he sucked in short consecutive breaths and lost all the air in a single quick burst. There was a hand rubbing his back in little circles and it was warm and didn't want it to stop but he wanted everything to stop and he felt a hand touch his head and lightly push it up away from the pressure and the pain, and he didn't want to stop pressing himself into the corner of the binder, but he liked the warm soft touch of hands stroking his hair and the hand was gently pushing him more upright.

He gave in, letting himself get pushed upright a bit and without hiding his face in the dark crease in his backpack he felt compelled to open his eyes and the light burned, and his face felt a wave of cold air hit it, and it was a very cool breeze, and he tried to breathe into it, and the air was better now that he was not breathing into his backpack, but it was still hard to get air into his body.

Taking in his surroundings, he processed that he was no longer in the fighting classroom at Signal Academy but was now home with Aunt Dorothy. Seeing her stirred up something deep in his stomach and he flung the backpack away, throwing his arms around her. It felt wrong to be so physically close to someone, and he felt hot, sweat building on his chest, and some part of him wanted to push her away and try to cool down, but a bigger part of him wanted to never let go because he was afraid of losing her again. 

He wasn't sure how long he stayed there, gasping for air in a world that was on fire, but at some point, things had slowed down. He had no tears left to cry and his eyes burned. His lungs burned. Everything hurt. There was a dull ache on his forehead. His heart drummed through him. 

"Can I get you a snack?"

Oscar nodded, letting her go as he sunk into the chair, feeling the last of the shaky breaths leave him. He could inhale solidly now without sputtering like a dying lawn mower, and he was enjoying the feeling of breathing. The tear streaks on his face felt like ice as the evaporated off his hot face, but he made no move to wipe them. The coldness in the air was uncomfortable, but it felt good. 

He was handed a plastic cup, not very full, and he took it with shaking hands. He could see the water twirl in the cup from his trembles as he forced himself to take a sip. She took it out of his hands, and placed a small plate of crackers with cheese in his lap.

"I'm going to go slice up an apple, alright? I'm right here."

Oscar ate slowly, and it was relieving to eat. The screeching monster in his stomach calmed majorly after a mere two crackers. 

She returned after a moment of two with apple slices, a jar of peanut butter, and a spreading knife. As she frosted the slices with peanut butter, she placed them on his cracker plate.

_It really is in the weirdest moments that you truly realize how much you love someone._

He looked to her, and he could tell she was doing her best to hide her concern. She smiled at him. Oscar refused to recognize how much it bothered him that his hand trembled as he lifted a piece of apple to eat it.

She spoke to him, telling him about the cows, and how Big Molly had recently gotten pregnant, and how she was trying a new brand of cattle feed. Oscar let himself melt into her voice, quietly consuming the apple and the crackers.

The tears stopped eventually, and his heart stopped thudding violently. He was exhausted and drenched in cold sweat, and he hated seeing his hands tremble. He ran out of crackers.

"I think I've got some tuna salad in the fridge, does that sound good?"

Oscar thought of Blake, and nodded.

He moved the chair closer to the table, and his Aunt brought him a bowl from the fridge, setting him up. 

Oscar drank some more water. She kept chatting, keeping the room from falling silent, and Oscar was grateful for it. He ate until he wasn't hungry anymore, which was far deeper into the bowl than he expected. 

"I'm sorry," he forced himself to choke out in the middle of her update on the local market. 

"Honey, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I shouldn't have left, I shouldn't have"-

"Hush, child. You're okay," She kissed him on the forehead, before pushing back his bangs and looking him in the eyes. "I love you."

Oscar could feel the burn of his eyes attempting to build tears, but they were too dry to succeed. He forced himself to take a deep breath, hating how much his lungs shook.

"This has been a lot, Oscar. But no matter what, you will always be able to come here and I will always take care of you. I want you to know that no matter what I will always love you. Okay? I've got your back. I know you've been going through a lot, but I'm not letting go of you. You're still my beautiful baby boy."

Oscar felt himself chuckle silently at that. "I love you too."

"Good. And I think right now that's all I need to know."

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you have a lot to do, I"-

"I think we should snuggle on the couch until we fall asleep. Sound good?"

Oscar laughed softly, feeling himself choke on air on the inhale at the end. He felt like he was crying even though he wasn't, and it hurt. He ended up nodding. 

She left the dishes on the table, pulling him onto his feet and guiding them into the family room.

She sat in one of the large recliners, pulling him into the snuggle. Even as a teenager, he was still able to curl up on top of her like he did when he was much much smaller. There was something amazing about being held like a small child. She pulled a throw blanket over them, and rubbed circles into Oscar's back.

He was quick to fall asleep in her arms.

**\- Trigger Warning ends here -**

Oscar woke up to find himself wrapped in his Aunt's arms.

_How did I get here again? I don't remember using my semblance. I guess that anxiety attack must have triggered it somehow. It's going to be hard to explain that when I get back._

Oscar found himself hungry again, even though he had just eaten before falling asleep. He was too comfortable to move though, and decided to stay put and enjoy being held for a while.

He had a lot of explaining to do when he went back to Signal Academy, but he wasn't there yet. For right now he would just enjoy the feeling of being home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, it's been a *party* writing this chapter. Thank you for being patient!
> 
> I have a lot more fun things I want to do with this story, I just need to finish this "get a weapon" arc, and it's not been as simple as intended. I'm okay with that though, it helps build the insanity.


	19. Speed running Signal Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Achievement Unlocked*  
> Build a weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this feels like an entirely different person is writing this, it's because it is. I am three children of varying ages in a trenchcoat.
> 
> Also, it's a bit time skippy, but I think it should make sense. Welcome to time travel! We don't move in chronological order here. No, that would be too easy. Here we follow Oscar's journey, but Oscar doesn't do things in the same order as everyone else. Time skips are Oscar-centric. 
> 
> This follows the order that Oscar does things even if that's not what if would look like if you drew a timeline, but you knew that already.
> 
> Time go brrrrrr

Aunt Dorothy woke up slowly, feeling the weight of her boy on her lap. "Hey, honey."

"We should probably get up," Oscar muttered, not moving.

"How long have you been awake, mister?"

"A bit. I didn't want to move yet."

"Ah, alright," she ran her fingers through his hair. "I've missed this."

"How long have I been gone?"

"Almost a year now."

"Really? I'm sorry."

"It's all okay. I'm just happy to have you here, right now," she kissed the top of his forehead and smiled when he snuggled into the crook of her neck.

"I didn't mean to be away for so long."

"I'm not upset, Oscar. You did what you needed to do."

Oscar's bangs ticked her cheek. 

"I still love you, goofball."

"I love you too, Auntie."

"Wanna help me make dinner?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Oscar didn't really want to leave, but staying wasn't really an option. He still didn't know if he could be in two places at the same time, and he didn't know if he was going to randomly skip over a period of time later because he was here. He made a note in his handy pocket journal, so if he ever saw the date again he could test this theory for certain.

Dinner had been lovely, and Oscar had enjoyed being home on the farm, listening to his aunt talk about everything and nothing. Oscar was careful to avoid telling her much of anything that he had been up to.

After dinner, they kept talking, keeping the atmosphere lighthearted. While they talked, Oscar finished the blueprints to his new cane, pleased that he could work somewhere that he felt comfortable.

Aunt Dorothy was in awe at Oscar's new skill, and Oscar couldn't wipe his smile off his face, and he made no effort to try.

He ended up taking a box from the cellar of some of his old stuff, including clothes. It would make his stay at Signal-past that much easier. Saying goodbye was hard, it always was, but Oscar knew he could come back anytime. _Literally_.

He forced himself back to Signal-past, noting that he teleported to his temporary room after sundown. He set down his box of things and his backpack, and headed out to the main room, to hopefully find Principal Johnston and apologize for his previous meltdown. Opening the door, he spotted the older man standing by the front window on the phone with someone. He quietly listened in.

* * *

Mr. Jonston took another sip of his coffee, listening to Specialist Owen Stanley explain the phone call he had gotten from Beacon Academy the day prior.

"You think he's dangerous, sir?"

"Johnston, it's not every day I get a call from Beacon saying they need security backup, although I do find this case quite curious."

"So you'll come then?"

"Of course. It's one thing to get an offhand call from Headmaster Quixinn about a child making threats, but if both of you are concerned, I can't rightfully ignore it."

"Thank you, sir. I've never been in a predicament like this."

"Of course, give me three days to travel over."

"Three days? Alright. I'll make a note to be free to pick you up from the shuttle stop on Friday."

"That won't be necessary."

"Oh? Alright. Perhaps I should give you my address then?"

"That will be sufficient."

* * *

Oscar pulled out his pocket notebook, making note that someone was coming by on Friday.

"Oscar! Oh my goodness, where have you been? You told me you'd teleport straight home after your weapon's class."

_I never went to weapons class. I left in the middle of fighting class. What?_

_Did somebody say it's lying time? Unless he is trying to see if I'm lying? Frick it, I'll just say I misheard if he calls me out._

"Sorry, my bad. I decided to pick up some clothes and things."

"Oh, okay. How was weapons class? I know you were really looking forward to it."

_Oh, snap, he's going in. I can't let him call my bluff._

"I'm not ready to talk about school, yet. I'm still processing it. It all feels like a blur."

_Buy the lie! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!_

The principal forced a smile. "Oh. Alright."

_SOLLLLLLD! To Mr. Can't Stop Smiling!_

"Ms. Wanda was telling me all about your weapon after her last class of the day. Wanna tell me about that cane? Maybe you're more ready to talk about that."

_Not sold!_

"Not really, sir. Maybe in the morning? I'm really tired."

"Hm. The first day of school really took that much out of you?"

"Yeah. It was a really long day."

"Well, alright then. Why don't you head to bed. I'll wake you up an hour before we leave for school, sound good?"

"Sounds great. Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight Oscar."

Oscar slipped back into his room, closing the door. _Maybe I need to go back and finish the school day. Fill in the gap of time like I never left._ Oscar looked at the clock.

_Now would be a bad time to overlap with myself, since I don't know the effects yet. And it seemed like I came home late, hence I went shopping._

_I need to stop disappearing when I go shopping, people aren't going to let me shop anymore if I keep this up._

_Okay_. _If I can reappear right after I left during my anxiety attack, I might be able to fill in the rest of the day like I totally didn't leave to go say hi to my aunt mid-way through. Nobody needs to know,_

Focusing, Oscar felt the room fill with green gas. _It smells like vanilla extract. Huh. I've never noticed that before._

Holding his backpack in one had and reaching out with the other, a large pink wisp exploded at the tip of his finger creating a portal that was more of a splatter shape than an oval. Oscar didn't step through it, the pink paint consumed him, spitting him out in Signal's principal's office.

_Well, that's not what I meant to do. What was that? I didn't even draw a portal, it just happened. What's up with my semblance?_

The door flung open and Oscar let out a "gahh" as he fell on his butt.

"Oscar!" The principal exclaimed, relief washing over his posture, "good heavens I thought we lost you."

"Sorry?" 

"It's okay, it's alright. Mr. Fitz was just telling me what happened, we were trying to figure out how you disappeared, but of course, you just teleported away from everyone. Oh wow that was stressful, okay. Can you tell me what's going on Mr. Pine?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Last time you teleported you used a portal, but this time there was green gas? And apparently, you were creating green paint earlier? I see the green theme but I must admit I'm extremely confused."

 _Let me not just mention how it was pink three seconds ago._ "I'd rather not get into it."

"Oscar-"

"I have trust issues!" Oscar blurted. _Not what I meant to do, but okay I'm rolling with it._ "I mean, it's been a long day, I'd rather not get into it... Maybe later?"

"Oscar," Mr. Johnston sighed. "What is going on with you?"

Oscar opened his mouth and then proceeded to shut it. 

_How do I deflect that? He's genuinely concerned. That's not the point, they're not supposed to actually care. I'm not staying, I can't let people get attached._

"You wouldn't get it." 

_That felt particularly moody, but I think I'm young enough to sell that story._

_I mean, I don't even understand my semblance, how is he supposed to? Technically it's not lying, it's just being rude. Right?_

"Oscar, I want to help you."

"I don't want your help. You're not my dad." _Moody? Check. Extra? Check. Emotional? Check. I'm doing great at this ~teenager~ thing. Mission dissolve emotional bonds is going well._

The principal took a deep breath.

_Yes. Let me disrupt the peace. Yes._

"Oscar?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

 _Well, that's a loaded question that Imma just not get into it._ "Whatever, old man. Can I just go back to class? I just want to build my cane."

"Right. We're talking about this tonight, okay?"

 _Lol no we're not. I headed to bed early._ "Okay." _Starting to see why I didn't go straight home. RIP this guy._

"Why don't you stay here until the end of class? Maybe keep working on that cane blueprint?"

"Fine." 

"Alright."

_I can't admit I did it during the imaginary time between now and my anxiety attack. Maybe I can refine the design to be more 'me.'_

* * *

The principal refrained from smacking his head against the wall the moment Oscar left to go to his last class. _This child is going to be the end of me._

He started thinking up a list of people to call for backup, including a child psychologist because it was time. He reached to grab a sticky note, but the top one was already written on.

> By the way, I'm going straight home after class. I don't want to be here anymore.
> 
> -Oscar Pine

Some part of Mr. Johnston wanted to crumple up the paper and throw it at the wall, but he refrained. 

_He's just having a bad day. First days are hard. This is a lot emotionally, and he wasn't doing too well in that department to begin with._

The principal set up an appointment to take place with a counselor for the weekend, deciding that if Oscar hadn't settled in by then, he would make him go. _That kid's gonna end up getting professional help._

Mr. Johnston set back to work on his administrative duties, knowing Oscar would teleport home at the first chance he could.

* * *

Oscar smirked to himself as he walked to weapons class. _"I'm going straight **home** after class." That lines up perfectly with my earlier lie about picking up some things. **Home** is wherever I was living before I joined him. Everything is lining up perfectly._

Oscar sat down in the front of the room, knowing he needed to sell being a nerd and a genuinely good student in only one class, and this was the moment. The stage was set, the lights were on, and now he needed to go full Ruby-mode.

_Thank gods I've lived with an absolute weapons geek. I think I updated the entire Ozma weapons archive just by letting her babble endlessly. Ruby is amazing._

"Oscar Pine, it's a pleasure to see you again. I take it you're ready to learn about weapons?" Ms. Wanda asked, a smile on her face.

_Please don't tell me I have to learn about weapon history first or something._

_Who am I kidding, I can breeze through that._

"I've been working on the cane design all day. You wanna see it?"

"Well, I'd love to."

Oscar pulled out the finished design and showed it to her.

"Oh wow. Usually, student's first drafts are rough sketches, but this... you've really thought about this."

"Thanks, I'm a weapons enthusiast," Oscar held his laugh at those words behind his teeth as he grinned at Ms. Wanda.

"I can see that. I like your thinking with the retractable components. It's really well thought out. There are a few things I'd like to talk to you about, but it looks amazing."

"Thank you! Any chance I can start working on it today?"

"I don't see why not. You're much more advanced than most of my students, I'm quite pleased. Why don't I get the class going on their assignment and then we can talk, okay?"

"Wait, are they not also building weapons?"

"They are, but you're the only one building their first weapon. The others already know what to do, I just need to get them started."

Oscar grinned. _At least this should work out. I just have to play the role of a weapons nerd._

* * *

Mr. Johnston groaned. The sun was just starting to set, and Oscar wasn't back yet. He had called around, and no one on staff had seen him since he left weapons class.

_I'm going to have to hold a search for him, aren't I?_

Seeing the sun dip over the horizon, he sent an email to Headmaster Quixinn at Beacon Academy.

> Headmaster Quixinn,
> 
> I have a student at Signal Academy with a teleportation seblance. He's gone missing. 
> 
> His name is Oscar Pine. He wears a green coat, and he has dark hair and freekles. 
> 
> Is there any chance he has been reported on campus?
> 
> Principal Johnston

Mr. Johnston sighed, walking to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. _It's going to be a long night._

His scroll pinged.

> Call Specialist Owen Stanley. I just gave him my report, the Oscar situation is his issue now.

There was a number listed in the email, and in desperation, he called it.

"Specialist Owen Stanly, SOS, listening in."

"Good afternoon, sir. This is Mr. Johnston, the principal at Signal Academy. I'm calling in regards to a missing teleporting student."

"Teleporting student? By chance, they wouldn't happen to wear green and look about sixteen?"

"You know of him?"

"I do, but I'd like you to tell me what you know first."

"Well, he appeared yesterday, hoping to come to my school and build himself a weapon. I've offered him a place to stay, and everything seemed to be fine this morning. I think he had a rough first day at school, and I'm worried he teleported just to get away from it all, but we can't find him."

"Interesting. I got a call from Beacon Academy the other day about a teleporting child acting as a security concern."

"Oh? What did they say?"

* * *

Oscar blinked, the green mist around him fading as he read the clock. _Right after I left to go back to weapons class! At least this teleport was accurate. I'm getting better at this._

Oscar moved swiftly to get himself ready for bed, just as he had promised Mr. Johnston he would 'moments' ago. Making his own weapon was going to be exhausting, but it was worth it to know it would be done completely right. 

He quickly fell asleep.

* * *

It was Friday morning, and Mr. Johnston was pleased that Oscar was talking again. _If the trauma wasn't so deep, I'd consider canceling the counseling for Oscar I have set up for tomorrow._

_Hopefully, when the specialist comes over later he can help us start to unravel Oscar's semblance and oddities. This is certainly quite a strange kid._

Oscar happily talked about the progress of the cane, and that seemed to be all he ever talked about. _At least he's got something that makes him happy. I may not understand it, but at least he is passionate._

* * *

Oscar grinned as he walked out of Signal Academy with a weapon in his hand, only four days into school. _Well, I did technically time travel to work on it while no one was here, but they don't need to know that. I've probably spent a good week of time extra into making this outside of class, but they didn't seem to notice._

_I **totally** didn't just take this weapon back to the future and work on it on the farm and only came back every day when I was learning major components. No, I **definitely** didn't do that._

_As far as they're concerned, I'm a weapons prodigy._

_Now I can finally get back to future-past-Beacon. Yeah!_

_Wait._

_I should say goodbye first. It's kinda rude to leave these guys hanging._

_I never checked in with baby-Ozpin, did I? Crud. Should I now?_

_Probably._

_Wasn't there someone coming over today?_

Oscar flipped through his agenda notebook.

_Huh. Who was that? Why didn't I write their name? Should I stay and say hi?_

_This is awkward. I don't think I've had a permanent good-bye like this in a while. I just really have no interest in coming back to visit._

_It's not their fault, they're doing their best in this time period, I'm just used to a more progressive world. They'll get there eventually._

Oscar swung by the principal's office and said goodbye since he was heading to Beacon to say hi to Oz and his team, OVCM. 

The principal seemed disappointed, but Oscar didn't give him the opportunity to ask questions. He dropped by the principal's house first, emptying out his backpack from all the paper he had written on, and left the school supplies to be reused. He left a note.

> Mr. Johnston,
> 
> I'm going to keep moving now, but I'm a lot less scared of teleporting somewhere Grimm infested because I have a weapon now. Thanks for helping me get one!
> 
> Thank you for all your hospitality. You're a great man.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Oscar Pine

Satisfied, he took his box of things and dropped them back off at his Aunt's, telling her he would be back to pick them up eventually. She was much more chipper now, and Oscar kicked himself so he would remember to keep visiting her. 

He traveled back to the past-Beacon, just to say goodbye. He appeared in a green fog, the courtyard of Beacon Academy. 

"You!"

Oscar's head whipped around.

"Oscar, stop right there!"

Oscar spotted the man. He was wearing a black vest over a deep red dress shirt. He had a tan face, framed by brown hair and a black curly goatee. _Why do I feel like I know him?_

The buzzing hit like a brick, and it Oscar collapsed to his knees, his hands moving to his head. He heard the man cry out with him.

"Put your hands up, this **trick** will not keep me down."

Oscar saw him struggle to stand up from the corner of his eye. "I don't want any trouble, please. I just came to say goodbye to a friend."

"Really, Mr. Pine? You've been missing for over a week."

"I... have?" To his credit, it was hard to think straight with the sensation of someone pulling his hair was making his mind gloss over.

The man grabbed his arm, and the buzzing in his head stopped. 

"What did you do to me?" The man blinked rapidly, his face contorting through a variety of emotions, "and why did it suddenly stop?"

"I didn't do anything?" Oscar replied meekly, feeling the man's grip tighten on his wrist.

"Nevermind. You should be more worried about what I'm about to do to you, Oscar Pine. Or should I call you, Striker?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Oscar felt himself get thrown backward onto the bricked pathway. There was a weapon in his face.

_Long memory._

"Ozma?" Oscar asked the universe quietly. _This must be one of the reincarnations before Ozpin._

"How do you know that name?"

"The the the cane, sir."

"That's it, boy, you're coming with me," the man lifted Oscar up by the collar, pulling him away from Beacon.

"Wait, no," Oscar struggled against the hold, "you don't understand, I don't work for **her** , I can explain, just stop, you're hurting me."

"Then suffer. I don't care for those who wish to destroy things mindlessly, even imperfect things can be turned into something of use."

"You leave me no choice," Oscar pulled out his own weapon, freeing himself in a single swipe.

The other man pulled out his weapon to counter.

_I really don't want to duel this guy._

Oscar turned his cane, holding it sideways with both hands and began to dance. Twisting his hips and bopping his head he sang, "I'm a dancing little frog, do do do dooo."

"What the heck is your problem?"

"You're not joining me."

"Are you insane?"

"Yes?"

"You have no idea how much danger you're in, do you? You're not leaving this place alive, so quit stalling."

"I've got more songs if you don't like frogs."

"The frogs weren't the issue."

"Then what was? Oh, wait, it was the dance, wasn't it? It's all good, I'm aware I'm really bad."

"Seriously, what do you think you're doing, kid? You're dealing with a professional huntsman."

"The best in the industry, I'm aware."

"Okay, so like, what? What is this plan? It's so bizarre, I'm actually curious."

"I'm a dancing little frog, do do do doooo."

"Fine. Evade my question. Drop the act or I will fight you."

"Neener neener?"

"What are you, nine?"

"Please don't hurt me."

The man looked at him, fully annoyed. "As much as I love your enthusiasm kid, you need to come with me."

"If say no, that's kidnapping."

"You're a wanted criminal. It's called an arrest."

"Criminal? What did I do?"

"Please just come in, kid. I'm sure we can clear this whole thing up."

_I suppose I could just teleport away if things get too wild. Why not go?_

"I'll go with you."

"Thank you."

"Under one condition."

The man sighed.

"You have to do the little frog dance."

Oscar could have sworn the man's eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Please? I'm being cooperative."

With a huff, the man conceded, doing the crummy little dance and song, although much less enthusiastically, "I'm a dancing little frog. Do do do doo."

Oscar grinned, taking the man's hand, "we're gonna get along just great!"

"Really?"

"Yep. My name's Oscar. What your name?"

"I thought you knew me?"

"No."

"Alright then. My name is Owen."

"Hi, Owen."

"Hi, Oscar."

"Where are we going?"

"To the zoo."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

Oscar looked up at the man, "really?"

"Neener neener," he replied tickling Oscar's side.

"What? Hey!" Oscar cried out between fits of giggles.

Owen eventually stopped, and Oscar recognized where they were heading.

"Are you sure we should be going inside Beacon? They don't like me in there very much."

"Maybe you shouldn't have lied about not being a fanus. You know there are extra rules and paperwork you have to fill out. I don't like it either, but it's not up to me."

"Owen, I'm not a fanus."

"Really? You expect me to believe that?"

"What kind of fanus would I even be?"

"Word is, you're hiding gills under those bandages."

"I'm not."

"Promise?"

"I promise. It's just scars from a grim attack. I don't like letting people see them."

"Oh. Hmm. Do you know who Striker is?" Owen re-directed them away from the building and towards a public transit station.

"No, sir."

"There's an old legend of a fanus named Striker. Many years ago, he rose up from a small town in Mistral, wearing a green coat and wielding a golden cane. He was one of the founding members of the first massive fanus rights movement. Many fanus have been inspired by him. He struck up quite the revolution. I think the name Striker came about many years later, most likely because he led the fanus to unionize and go on strike. The man was quite the visionary."

"That's cool."

"I just find it odd. Many fanus have taken up a green coat and golden weapon as a symbol. Most of them were killed by humans, but even then. That coat you're wearing is a symbol of fanus revolution, and the fact that you went to Signal Academy for the sole purpose of building a cane, well, it's quite hard to not think it's a coincidence."

_Hmm. Perhaps that's why no one wanted this coat and I could buy it so cheap. It's a symbol of change. Eh, it suits me._

"It is quite the coincidence, Owen, and I can't deny that I stand for equality between humans and fanus. If I happen to represent that through my clothes and weapon, even if it was unintentional, then so be it."

"I like you, kid. You can teleport, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Look at me," Owen stopped moving. They were on the edge of the air-ship station, hiding on the rim of the crowd. "I believe in that cause too, but please, don't die a martyr. there's already been enough. I'm going to let go of you now, don't turn around, don't come back. These people are not ready to accept the fanus yet, but we're taking steps. Go, I will find you again someday."

"You're never going to find me, sir."

Owen scuffled his hair, "then do me proud, Striker."

The moment he let go of Oscar, Oscar ran into the crowd, grabbed the first wisp he saw and got out of there.

Stepping through the portal, he landed in team OVCM's room. Oz was the only current occupant, and he whizzed around to look at him.

"Oscar?"

"Hey, Oz!"

"I was hoping you'd come by after your first day of school. How was today?"

_The last window of time! Between weapons class and when I reappeared at Mr. Johnston's house! This is where I went!_

"Today was meh, but it's going to get better, I just know it. How are you?"

"I'm okay."

"Hey, Oz?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever heard of the legend of Striker?"

"Oscar, please don't tell me that's why you wanted to make a cane."

"What if it was?"

"Oscar, you've stirred up enough trouble already."

"No, I don't think I have stirred up enough. I think it's time for a revolution."

"Get out," Oz's voice was ice.

"I will, but hear me out."

"Get. Out. **Now.** "

"Uniting the fanus and the humans **is the only way to save Beacon**."

"Headmaster Quixinn sent you. Didn't he? To prove how easily I'm distracted from what's **important**."

" **People** are important. It's why you're one of the best teachers anyone could have."

"How much are you being paid to **ruin my life**?"

"It's free, actually. Just like the fanus slave workers."

"I don't want anything to do with you."

"I want to save the world."

"Take your impossible ideals and get out of my life. I'd be happier if I forgot you ever existed."

Oscar grabbed a whisp, knowing it was time to leave, "I'm proud of you, Oz. You did the best with what you had."

Oz growled, and Oscar portal-ed away, knowing with full certainty that Oz had completely forgotten him.

He had been to the future, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Different cultures have different fairytales, so why can't the fanus have a fairytale? 
> 
> And all fairytales are based on true stories, right?
> 
> **Also in case it wasn't clear:**
> 
> \- Owen thought Oscar was a fanus because Oz reported him as a Striker copycat. He played along with it when Oscar played dumb because Oscar was acting childish, assuming he was playing dumb makes sense
> 
> \- Oscar essentially learned how to build the parts of the cane and then went to future time with his Aunt and built the components. He just learned a different component every past-day. This is how he built the weapon so quickly. To Signal, it would look like he was stealing the parts by teleporting at night, more fuel to the belief that he is secretly a fanus criminal 'outsmarting' them
> 
> \- Owen lets Oscar go because he wants to unite the fanus and humans and is assuming they will see each other later when Oscar leads his rebellion/protest/riot (honestly the kid is a wild card). 
> 
> -Even though the kid might work for Salem, a pro-fanus revolution would still give him the opportunity to make legal changes to force the fanus to back down and feel like they made progress. Besides, it's unlikely Salem directly hired a child. It's more likely the child is working for one of Salem's minions. Oscar by himself is not threatening, and Owen is a playful guy that could be swayed with a little song
> 
> -Owen essentially releases Oscar to the wild to gather more information on him, since he can't tell what Salem is planning through him (mainly because he isn't working for Salem, but Owen doesn't know that)
> 
> -The part that Owen tells Mr. Johnston about the Beacon update during the phone call is never written out. It's assumed that Oz reported Oscar to the Beacon headmaster, and the headmaster in turn called Owen as he needed a specialist to handle the Striker situation (since the headmaster is anti-fanus). Owen does his job in warning Mr. Johnston of what's to come, even if he plans to let Oscar start a pro-fanus movement
> 
> -Owen says he's taking Oscar to the zoo... while thinking Oscar is a fanus. There's a jab there. A very clear, "know your place" (I'm not saying Owen is perfect. In this time period, discriminatory jokes are probably common. I like to think being in Oz's head changed him a lot, especially as Oz's reign as headmaster changes a lot of anti-fanus policy).


	20. Is this the Fall? No? Don't care, fight Grimm.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Review (it's been a while)**
> 
>   * Oscar was staying at Beacon Academy with Oz. Oz wakes up to sirens- Grimm are attacking the city. He leaves Oscar to sleep (he passed out in Chapter 12, when he 'met' JNPR). Oz goes to fight when he has a splitting headache, checking the baby monitor he set up, Oscar is awake and spewing green gas everywhere.
>   * Oz had spoken to JNPR the day before their mission and told them Oscar's semblance makes people forget him because he doesn't believe that Oscar is a time traveler. (He thinks his abilities are based on making other people lose control by messing with their memory)
>   * Oscar used the green gas to go back in time before this attack because he knew he needed a weapon.
>   * Back in Chapter 11, Ruby saved Oscar from an attacking Grimm (and brought him to a rooftop). This was back when he used his semblance for the first time (it's been a while, I know)
> 

> 
> If the pieces didn't connect, this is Mountain Glenn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I took a break. Sorry, I know I didn't write an update on here I just kept putting it off. I just haven't been in the mood to write. I hope I can return to weekly updates, but no guarantees. Thanks for being patient with me <3
> 
> Seriously though, I recommend reading the review in the summary. Since this timeline isn't chronological, I'm about to refer to things that just happened according to everyone else, but are literally chapters ago to Oscar's timeline. (Also it's probably been a good while since any of you have read this fic lol)
> 
> Also, survey at the end. Please take it if you're still interested in reading this, it will help me focus on what to include in this story and what to make into a separate fic. <3

Ozpin stared at his scroll to watch the live video camera feed from his office, sitting on top of a roof, Grimm and huntsman moving all around him. _The green mist. It's gone. Where did it go?_

**_Where did Oscar go?_ **

Oz felt a powerful pulse as his head throbbed. It faded quickly, too quickly. The back of his eyes burned and Ozpin wanted to scream across the rooftops because what in the world was happening?

**OSCAR**

His brain called out, feeling the boy's presence. 

_What is he doing to me?_

Oz spotted Oscar on a nearby rooftop being carried by Ruby. _He looks injured. Oh no._

* * *

Ruby set the lost younger boy in a green coat down on a nearby flat rooftop. He was fading from consciousness quickly. She stood up to wave down an airlift when a flash of green set off below her. 

_Huh?_

_What the friggity fraggity? Where did he go?_

* * *

Oscar stepped out of the portal into a warzone. He was quick to raise his weapon and join the fight against the numerous Grimm flooding the city.

"Hey!" He heard Ruby call out from somewhere above him. Striking the beowolf he was currently fighting, and turning it to dust, he turned towards the sound of her voice.

"Ruby?" He called back, before spotting her on a nearby flat rooftop. 

"You're injured, what are you doing?" She zipped down the wall, landing next to him, looking him over.

"What? I'm fine."

"I literally just put you on a rooftop and in a flash of light, you're down here! Wait, I thought you said you couldn't find your weapon?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I- what?"

"Let's figure it out later, there's more Grimm incoming."

"Right..." Ruby eyed him over again before shooting off towards the incoming Grimm.

_What was she talking about? Perhaps I haven't done it yet? Oh boy, this is about to get confusing._

Oscar struck down the next Grimm that came his way. The huntsmen were making good progress clearing the city, and Oscar found himself slowly approaching the source of the onslaught of monsters. 

_A train._

The image flashed through his mind, memories, dreams, hallucinations in the green mist, and Oscar felt the world spin.

"If I get you to safety again, will you actually stay there this time?"

"I'm fine."

"I just saved your butt!" He could hear the pout in her voice.

"What?" Oscar blinked rapidly trying to clear his vision, but he sensed the Grimm rather than saw it when he struck. 

"Are you sure you're okay? You look like you're about to fall over."

"I got this, just keep pushing them back."

He heard Ruby's all too familiar groan of annoyance and he felt his heart flutter at the familiarity of it. He took a deep breath, focusing enough to get a real look at the scene. 

He had been here before.

_Oh._

_When I used my semblance for the first time... that must have been this._

_Is this the fall of Beacon?_

_No. It can't be. It's too calm and there are not enough people._

_I'm almost scared to see how much worse the Fall actually gets._

With renewed focus, he helped Ruby destroy the incoming hoard of Grimm. The rest of team RWBY was nearby, and Oscar found himself among their ranks as they pushed Grimm back towards the hole in the square.

He hoped they didn't find it too strange how easily he fought in synch with them.

Glynda showed up and began sealing the hole in the middle of the courtyard, pushing the train back underground. Oscar was excited to fight alongside her and finally see the incredible Glynda Goodwich in action-and for once she was fixing a mess that he hadn't caused. He hoped his giddiness wasn't annoying her.

She kept him close by, but probably not because the admiration was mutual. Oscar tried not to dwell on it.

In fact, it was beginning to feel like everyone was trying to guard him, even if subconsciously. 

_Perhaps it's the height? I mean, they probably do know most of the huntsmen on campus so I must look odd fighting among them._

_Is that why we're fighting together so well? They're collectively guarding me?_

_Heh. That would be a first._

They had been fighting for half an hour, trying to close the hole the Grimm were using, all while avoiding getting surrounded by the army of Grimm, when Glynda finally got the last of the pavement solidly sealed.

There was a beat of calm while everyone caught their breaths. 

"Alright, everyone. We will have a team make small punctures and start funneling cement down soon. See if there's any more Grimm running through the city."

Team RWBY nodded, moving out of the square towards a doughnut shop.

"Oscar, stay."

Oscar expected that, and he hadn't even bothered to follow team RWBY. Ruby looked back and waved. 

_She probably still thinks I'm injured._

_Glynda is probably going to yell at me for helping out. These people have no idea how much more desperate things are going to get._

Glynda was calling someone one on her scroll. _Probably Oz._

_Or maybe just the construction crew bringing the cement. I kinda wanna watch them fill the hole. Could be cool._

Glynda eventually hung up and called someone else. 

_Both. Both is good._

_Oz should be here soon to throw a fit. I don't think he will like that I left wherever I was supposed to be._

_I was just here, right? Yeah, I made green tea. That was some quality stuff._

Oz showed up before the construction company, which made logical sense, but it didn't bring Oscar joy since he would most likely not be allowed to stay and watch them fill the hole. 

_Would've been so cool._

"Oscar," Oz's tone was as professional and cold as it always was amongst external groups. _It's almost unsettling._ "What exactly are you doing?"

Oscar leaned on his new golden cane, copying Oz's stance. _This does feel fancy. I should take some 'being classy' notes from the professor._ "Well-"

"Where did you get that?"

"Huh? Oh, my cane. I just went back and time and built it. Crazy long story."

"Oscar."

_That tone. It hurts._

"Shouldn't you be in my office?"

"No, not really. It'd be pretty dumb to go back in time just to watch Grimm attack and just do nothing."

"Was this the 'Fall' you're so keen on talking about?"

"This? Oh heavens no. This was nothing."

"I see. Come with me."

"I'm sorry?"

"You have tea in my office going cold, and it's not going to drink itself."

"Oh, uh sorry about that. I figured you wouldn't mind."

"I don't. I am, however, disturbed by how easily you found it."

"Well, I am from the future. I know things."

"That's not really a good justification."

"We shared a brain in the future, dude. I know where you keep your tea."

"And yet you don't seem to know too much about this Fall you keep referring to."

"Um, what? I know all about it."

"Really? Because it seems that every time we try to discuss it, you end up vanishing or passing out. Rather convenient."

"It's not like that!"

"The little things do add up, Mr. Pine."

Oscar wanted to screech because why was Oz suddenly being so frustrating? "Let's finally have that talk then. You and me, going through the details."

"Until then, I need to do the paperwork from this. You're not leaving my sight, and you are to remain within an arm's reach at all times. Clear?"

"So we're gonna hold hands? That... actually sounds kinda nice." Oscar clicked his cane closed, and happily took Oz's hand.

Oscar looked up at him, grinning, and was treated by a priceless expression of sheer shock. 

"Oh. That's not what you meant," Oscar let go of Oz's hand, still walking close enough that his shoulder practically touched Oz's side. "And yeah, you've got a point- what would the neighbors think?"

Oz swatted him on the back of the head so fast Oscar experienced whiplash. 

"Sorry. It was kinda funny though? You know, the idea of the elusive headmaster Oz just secretly having a child and parading him around in public out of nowhere."

"Oscar, you're not my son. If anything you're a presumed criminal."

It was Oscar's turn to look shocked, as he separated himself from Oz's side and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. 

"Stay close."

"Yes, sir." Oscar tailed the headmaster like a kicked puppy.

Glynda scowled at Oz, who dismissed it.

As the duo trekked back to the headmaster's office, Oscar spotted Alarik. 

_Oh that's just what I needed right now. The White Fang calling me out._

Alarik spotted him back, and his face lit up. Oscar wanted to scream. _There's no way this ends well for me, the secret fanus Striker. At least now I know that I accidentally named myself after a symbol for the fanus revolution. That's a mega yeet moment._

_How did Alarik let me go with so few questions earlier? Like now that I know more about who I accidentally imitated, he must have thought some really weird things when I introduced myself as Striker._

_Wait, that train... were they behind this attack? Oh lords, I'm friends with the assailants._

_Why can't anything go my way?_

"Oscar."

Oscar's head whipped around towards Oz's voice.

"You're falling behind."

"Right. Sorry professor."

"You can stop staring at your White Fang buddies now."

Oscar felt heat swarm to his cheeks. _How am I still alive?_

As they walked past more White Fang members getting carted away into police ships, Oscar couldn't help but feel his stomach sink.

_I look like their leader. Walking with Oz makes me look like I betrayed them, ratted them out. I just created enemies with an entire organization._

He could see the fanus whispering amongst themselves, giving little signals to each other. Oscar stole a final glance before looking straight ahead and clinging near Oz. 

_Maybe Alarik will tell them I'm in deep cover for **their** side. That's my only hope of getting out of this without getting burned as an evil human using their own culture against them._

_What a day._

The rest of the walk back was highly uneventful, and Oscar settled back into Oz's office with relative ease.

"I need to attend meetings about this. Can I trust you to sit still and behave?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. If you try anything, I'm bringing you down. You've caused quite enough trouble."

Oscar did his best to not show offense as he sat down on one of the mattresses on the floor. _What am I supposed to do now? It feels too late to ask for a book._

_Maybe I should fiddle around with my scrolls, see if either works in this time period._

Oscar flipped open his pocket notebook, making a new entry.

* * *

Glynda came by Ozpin's office to give the update after speaking with Team RWBY and Professor Oobleck. Things looked rather tense, but that didn't surprise her.

She could feel Oz always looking past her, never truly taking his eyes off of Oscar. Oscar looked rather bored, but the gremlin was behaving so she made no comment. 

_I should probably bring up snacks and maybe a puzzle. That seemed to keep him calm and happy before._

After finishing her updates, she left Oz to his next meetings, fetching grapes and a puzzle. 

Oz raised a brow, but Oscar seemed thrilled at the development. _I wonder when they last ate. I guess I'm getting lunch next._

Getting Qrow for moral support, Glynda forced Oz to pause his meetings to stop and eat turkey sandwiches with Oscar. Qrow hadn't been thrilled about coming, but Glynda wanted the backup. His nieces were resting having just returned from their mission, he didn't really have any excuse.

* * *

Qrow looked over Oscar and Oz. 

Oz looked distressed at best, clearly exhausted by the day's events. His hair was spiked more than usual, and his posture was far tenser than it needed to be.

Oscar looked bored, if not a little sad. He also looked disheveled, and he sunk into himself. What really caught Qrow's eye was the shine of the new gold cane clipped to Oscar's belt. 

"Hey, kiddo. Where'd ya get that?" Qrow nodded his head towards the new cane.

"I, uh, went back in time to build it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It was kinda fun, actually."

"Neat. Wanna give me the specs?"

Oscar smiled as he began his ramblings as a 'weapons enthusiast.'

* * *

Glynda watched Oz smile softly, as Qrow kept Oscar happily chatting away. Oz seemed considerably calmer with Qrow around to keep Oscar occupied, and food was bringing color back to his cheeks. 

Glynda scooted herself next to Oz and leaned on his shoulder. Oz didn't make a scene of it, but Glynda could still feel him intentionally shift his position to make her a little more comfortable. 

Eventually, Oz got up to go back to work, and Glynda joined him at his desk. Qrow kept Oscar chatting as he worked on the puzzle. 

It was a comforting break from the morning events.

* * *

Oz gave a final look over his to-do list.

_There's nothing else on here that I need to do immediately. The council can handle things from here._

"Oscar," Oz said pointedly. Both Oscar and Qrow tuned to look at him from their spot on the floor. "I think it's time we talk."

Oscar shifted his weight but nodded.

_Last time, Qrow and I were rather efficient at getting him to talk. We just need to pull that again._

_Even if he is secretly an agent of Salem, he is still a child. We can handle a child._

"If we're gonna do this, can we make snacks? It's a long story." Oscar set down his puzzle piece, stretching in preparation for the transition of events.

_You know Oz, I do recall you guys planning to make a blanket fort for this chit-chat._

_Owen, not now. Seriously._

_He's more chatty when he's comfortable. Let's get cupcakes and soda, make a night of it._

_We're not doing that._

"The voice in your head, his name is Owen, right?"

Oz felt panic churn in his stomach as he glared at Oscar.

"Does he by any chance remember the little frog song?"

**_ WAIT, WHAT?_**

"It's cool if he doesn't. I just... it's that guy, right? Like that's the reincarnation before you?"

Oz could feel little memories bubble to the surface of his brain. It hadn't done that in a while. _These memories must have been so minor and unimportant they didn't even transfer._ "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

_No wait, Oz, I think I do. Holy crap I think that verifies him as a time travel if he wasn't already. Oh my gods, that's the same kid._

_Shut up, I'm focusing._

Qrow looked between the two of them before poking Oscar and asking, "what's the little frog song?"

Oscar flushed red. "It's a long story, and it's not that memorable. I just came from the past and I guess it never really occurred to me that I never really knew who came before Professor Ozpin. That's all."

"So... what's it gonna take to hear the song?" Qrow wiggled his eyebrows at him, and Oscar pouted.

"I'm not"-

"Blanket fort," Oz interjected. "If you want to make a blanket fort to tell us about your adventures in, you have to sing the song."

"...I did this to myself."

"Yep," Oz punctuated that with a long sip of now-cold tea.

Oz watched Oscar weigh his options with great curiosity.

"Ugh, fiddlesticks. Fine." Oscar was bright red and fidgety as he stood up.

_He looks so much younger when he's nervous._

"I'm a dancing little frog, do do do dooo." Oscar immediately covered his face upon finishing the song and dance, and he flopped on his floor mattress in a fit of dramatics.

Qrow managed to choke out, "well if that isn't the cutest thing I've seen all day," before he was rolling on the ground hollering at Oscar's embarrassment, and Glynda was failing to contain her own laughter.

Oz couldn't contain a smile. 

_S_ _o that confirms that he is indeed time traveling._

_ Wait, you did that to confirm his story? I thought we were just harassing him for fun. _

_It was indeed amusing, although I'm quite surprised you remembered that._

_ He's done it a few times. I just never processed that he was the dancing little frog kid. _

_Really? You've met him?_

_I think you have too, actually._

_If I did, why wouldn't I recognize him?_

_Because it's been decades and he hasn't aged a year? It makes more sense that he's just another kid who happens to look similar._

_I think I would remember a time traveler._

_Would you? How many Striker fanatics have we seen on the news? Just out and about? It feels like there's always someone who fits the description left by the "prophecy."_

_Yeah, but that's a load of crap we made up eons ago. Just because people like claiming to be 'the chosen one' doesn't mean anything._

_Yeah, but look at his outfit. He blends in as just another fanatic that dies a young martyr. I honestly can't believe people still buy that lie._

_But what if there aren't that many people?_

_I'm sorry?_

_What if the reason so many people who look alike keep posing as Striker and vanishing is because it's just him traveling through time? I mean, how many kids with tan skin, freckles, and dark hair from Mistral can there be?_

_In that case, we've both met him a good handful of times._

_Oh good lord. What if he's the original Striker? You know, the one the fairy tale is based on?_

_There's no way.... unless... oh gods what if your right? That's a distant memory to recall, so I can't dispute it by comparing their faces._

_I really hope I'm wrong. Him being from that far in the past would be quite a lot to handle._

_Heads up, people are staring._

_Fiddlesticks._

"So... Blanket fort?" Oz proposed with a gleam in his eye.

Oscar, still beat red, simply grinned and nodded. Oz secretly knew the adults were just as excited to build a blanket fort as Oscar was, and he relished that fact with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **GUYS I MADE A SURVEY ABOUT THIS FIC!!!!!**  
>  https://forms.gle/MqBgbAFxY24U2cSx8
> 
> To reiterate, take it as much as you want, I'm not keeping track. I just want to know your interests are for this fic and what I should save for its own little fic. Help me tailor this to you guys! 
> 
> Thanks for all the support internet friends!  
> Sorry again for the long break, burnout sucks <3


	21. The History of the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **~ PREVIOUSLY ON R2LSF ~**
> 
>   * Mountain Glenn episode, but with Oscar (Regular timeline- first Ruby appearance, Oscar timeline- 2nd)
>   * Oscar and Oz's relationship is quite unstable at the moment (Oz is being cold and Oscar just left young Oz who didn't want to be his friend)
>   * Oscar realizes Owen is the reincarnation before Oz, and they've met in the past (young Oz). Woah.
>   * Oz finally accepted Oscar as a time traveler (again, I know) because of the Dancing Little Frog Song (new memories to absorb after the merge??? Time travel must be it)
>   * Oz is now debating if Oscar as a time traveler is the original Striker (a famous Remnant figure representing fanus revolution)
>   * Oscar agreed to finally tell Ozpin, Glynda, and Qrow the future
> 


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided instead of writing a summary for the chapter you're about to read, I'll just give you a recap so you don't have to go back to the last chapter and try to figure out what was happening. I hope this helps.
> 
> As usual, this is where I'll write announcements and trigger warnings. None for this chapter, it's chill. It's all parts of the show.
> 
> I know this chapter is going to be a lot of Oscar telling Oz about the show's events, and I hope I can make it interesting for both of us.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who did my little survey! If you missed it last chapter, here's the link.  
> https://forms.gle/1G7ZghFuWN2LJTWU6

Oscar settled into the blanket fort, curled right up to Qrow. Oz had taken the liberty to make tea.

_Now for the hard part. Where do I even begin?_

_I guess all that matters is that I start somewhere, right?_

"So. The Fall. I guess my story starts there." Oscar took a deep breath, feeling the room's eyes on him. _Just like how team RWBY used to look to me to explain things like the relics. Oh, how the curtains fall._

Oscar began, "Salem has a plan to divide the kingdom's by making it seem like the students are being trained to be ruthless to each other. She does this by sending in her own team, disguised as being from Haven. You will not recognize them, but they are the ones who attacked Amber, and their leader Cinder, will become the Fall maiden. Getting the Fall maiden situation sorted out before the Vytal tournament will be an immense advantage to you."

"But whatever we did last time," Oz spoke cautiously, "wouldn't we fail just the same if we try something without being ready?"

"You weren't ready last time either. But not having it settled, you had to handle that during the crisis. If Cinder is going to become the Fall maiden, you might as well rip the bandaid off now, early. In fact, if you're not in a rush from being in the middle of a full-scale attack, your transfer might have succeeded. Waiting to be ready is why you weren't ready."

"So you propose we act now, even though we're not close to being ready."

"Maybe not today, but have things settled at least a week before the tournament. If you succeed, there's a chance you will have a maiden on hand to help when the attack hits."

"I see."

"Also, it'd be wise to do something about the White Fang."

"I had the feeling they would come up."

"Well, seeing as they're one of the only groups involved in the Fall that you can do anything about, I'd get on it. Besides, helping the fanus should be a much larger priority than it is."

"I'm headmaster of a school, I don't quite have the power to rule the world."

"I'll respectfully disagree and handle it myself then. Perhaps you do have the power to get rid of James Ironwood?"

Qrow scoffed, "he's not god."

"Mmm. Maybe not in the literal sense I suppose. But he could be if he wanted to," Oscar took a sip of his tea. He remembered having that bizarre nightmare dream. Jinn had awoken something in him at the sight of Salem and Ozma playing god. He dreamt about it for a few days before the nightmares became too strong for Ozma to hold back. He had seen his children die too many times over the course of the following weeks' worth of restless nights. 

_Nobody needed to know, especially as Oz faded to the back of my mind. At least that made the nightmares get a little easier._

Oscar couldn't see Qrow's face beside him, but from Oz's **overly** calm demeanor, he could tell Qrow was signaling Oz for a follow-up. Oz was intentionally forcing a poker face to avoid providing any details that would explain the 'god' comment.

 _Oz is still lying. Jinn hasn't fixed that yet._

"Ironwood will panic at being hacked and bring ships upon ships of Atlas military machines to defend himself. It's never smart to bring an army of electronic devices to a fight when you know you have been hacked. I don't think I need to go into detail on why that's a bad idea."

"This isn't Atlas. Ironwood can't just bring a fleet here."

"People scare easy, and the Vytal festival is an easy way to bring an excess of security. Just be firm, and know he will call them without asking you. He doesn't trust you. He will turn on you."

"What exactly happened in the future that has led you to believe this?"

"He tried to kill me when I told him his plan wouldn't work."

"Did it?"

 _That's what he's worried about? If Ironwood was right to try to kill me?_ "Didn't stick around. Came here. But I know the plan didn't work. It couldn't have worked."

"What exactly"-

"He planned to sacrifice Mantle to Salem as some kind of peace offering to leave Atlas alone, and use the staff of creation to fly Atlas out of her reach. I think he forgot the part where Salem can fly."

"Are you sure you understood his plan quite right? We do have a contingency plan in place, I'd be quite surprised if he didn't follow it."

"Ironwood dove off the deep end!"

"I think you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment. Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean he's evil. You may have just not understood the depths of his actions."

Oscar stared at Oz with disbelief. "You weren't there. You have no idea how bad it had gotten."

"I also know you're a child, and he's a complex war strategist. His plan was probably complicated and long-term. He's quite clever."

_What's the point of warning him about the future if he's not going to listen._

_What's the point of telling him what he needs to do if he doesn't understand the desperation to **do** anything._

_There's no point in me working with Oz._

_I'm on my own._

"Nothing to say to that Oscar?"

Oscar forced himself to take a deep breath. _What does he need to know strategically?_

"No, sir, I do have something to say."

The room fell silent, as Oscar patiently waited for Oz to be ready to listen.

"Well, go on."

"You're useless."

"I beg your pardon?"

_I left my home, my normal life, to help you with an impossible quest and you promised to be there for me. To guide me. But when things got tough, you thought a 14-year-old farmhand could do better than you could. Why did I think it would be different?_

_You're the same liar that backstabbed me before. Why did I think I could trust a man who doesn't trust me?_

* * *

Oz forced himself to keep a straight face, but he could feel his own anger begin to bubble.

_For all that it takes to trust you, you really are not making it easy._

"Well, professor, every single thing I've warned you about you've already decided you can't change. I know the future that awaits you on this path, and you don't care. You'd rather fail again than change."

"I do care, Oscar. It's just that things are complicated."

Oscar scoffed but didn't respond. 

"I do believe I can handle the maiden situation. That is not nothing."

Oscar looked away, contemplating this. Oz wanted to screech.

He opened his mouth to speak but decided against it, choosing instead to take a sip of his tea.

"When the Fall happens, and it will, the other headmasters will struggle to respond. I can't speak for Theodore, but Lionheart is long since a traitor, and Ironwood will become changed by fear. Fear will destroy them, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. If you make no move to eliminate them from power, they will trade sides. It's inevitable. If you feel like you can do nothing, then fine. Do nothing and pay for it. No one will thank you.

"Not when the huntsmen of Mistral all vanish as Lionheart leads them all to their deaths. Not as Mantle is massacred as Ironwood sacrifices them. No one will ever thank you. And if you're okay with that, feel free to hesitate. Do nothing. Don't worry about the future. The mistake isn't haunting you now, that's a later issue. A 'me' issue."

"Oscar, that's not"-

"If you're competent enough to handle the Fall Maiden, I'll be impressed."

_What did I do to screw this up this badly? I don't deserve to be attacked like this._

_Is he so far deep into some anti-government conspiracy that he just hates me too?_

* * *

Qrow watched Oz's face distort as he figured out what to make of that little speech.

"Hey kiddo, what do you need me to do? Oz isn't the only one in the room, ya know."

Qrow felt the boy curl into his side as he considered it. "Find Penny Polendina. I'd like to speak to her, and I think she can make a great impact on how this ends."

"Can I get a hint? Who's Penny?" Qrow ruffled Oscar's hair. _Greasy little kid. Someone put him through the shower._

"Ask Ironwood."

"I thought we didn't like Ironwood."

"Exactly why I'm asking you to do it. You've got the audacity to stand up to him and the cleverness to succeed."

"That's a pretty high bar there, kid."

"I thought you liked bars."

Qrow chuckled dryly. "You've got quite the wit, kiddo."

"And you've got quite the drinking problem."

"It's not hurting anybody. I get my work done."

"It's hurting Ruby."

"You know Ruby?" Qrow felt his stomach sink. _She's not supposed to be involved in this._

"Yeah. She's the one who picked up the slack as every single adult around her failed. For a while, I was pretty sure she could have called you 'kiddo' and be perfectly justified. Your actions matter, Qrow. More than you will ever know."

_I don't like the idea of Ruby getting involved in all of this so soon. It's going to get her killed._

_This kid is far too dangerous to **think** that he can get close to my girls._

* * *

Glynda could tell Qrow needed a subject change. "Well, if you're giving out missions, any chance you need me to do anything?"

"Just do what you normally do- keep the boys in check."

"Is that what you think I do?"

Oscar shrugged. "Qrow will need a friend to help him get sober, and Oz needs a real adult to keep him in line. You just seem like the type to supervise."

"Well, if I'm the adult in charge, let me make sure I got everything. You're hoping Oz can shift the power in other kingdoms, removing the current headmasters, all while getting Fanus better treatment and fixing the Fall maiden problem, and you're hoping Qrow will find you a certain Penny Polindina and get a hold on his drinking."

"That just about sums it up, yeah."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about the Fall? You've mentioned the White Fang, fake Haven students, hacked robots-"

"Oh, it's not just the security robots that get hacked. The matches get hacked to- they're not random."

"Interesting."

"It's used to give the fake Haven student's the opponents they want. If the tournament's going to be hacked, I can tell you which matches to prevent. Lie and say you pulled it out of a hat, it doesn't matter. If I know anything about this group, it's that they're not above lying to get their way."

"Hm, I see. And what matches do _they_ need to happen to succeed?"

"Most importantly, Yang vs Mercury, and Pyrrha vs Penny."

"What happened?"

"Mercury is one of the fake incoming students. One of his teammates, Emerald, rigs the match from the outside using her illusions semblance to make Yang look cruel. Pyrrha's semblance is the perfect foil to Penny- so good that with some more illusions to elevate their attacks, she kills her. This is why I need to speak to Penny before the Vytal tournament. It's of utmost importance."

"Oh my."

"You can't take Emerald out of the equation, but you can make their job a little bit more difficult."

"I see."

"What else happens at the Fall?"

"Besides Cinder becoming the Fall Maiden, a giant Wyvern getting awakened and frozen by Ruby, the murder of countless people, there's not really much."

"A Wyvern?"

"Yeah, they're very much a real Grimm, just rare. I never knew if they destroyed it, honestly, after the communications tower went down, there wasn't much besides letters and not a lot of those made it to or from Beacon."

"Oh my. The Fall does sound quite bad."

"Well, if you can't get the fanus to switch sides, handle the Fall maiden problem, get rid of the hacking permanently, or handle the other headmasters going corrupt, then yes. I do imagine it sounds quite miserable."

"We will do our best, Mr. Pine. Although I will say, given the timeframe the odds of success are rather low."

"I don't feel bad about it. Maybe the pressure of a deadline to impending doom will help you get yourself together."

"Oh?"

"How long now have the White Fang been an issue? How long has Lionheart been working for Salem? How long has Amber been in a life support coffin? I honestly think you've had more than enough time."

_This child is insane. He has no idea how long things take. It's so clear he's just a child. We're doomed to disappoint him._

_It's a shame really. If this kid wasn't on the verge of attacking us for his unrealistic expectations, I'd almost like him. He's quite funny._

* * *

Oscar didn't need telepathy to know that this conversation would be fruitless. Every promise they make they know they won't keep. They're hopeless.

_If things are going to get this hopeless, I'm getting Ruby. I need her optimism and boldness. She's my kind of crazy._

_These adults are far too comfortable sitting on their butts with all the information that the world is about to burn._

_I just need to buy myself time and then maybe a disguise. I could try to befriend team RWBY and JNPR, and lead Ozpin on that I'm fully counting on him to save us from this nightmare._

"I think I'll leave you all to discuss what you want to do. If you're going to blow off my words, I'd rather keep my plausible deniability."

"Oscar," Oz sighed, "we're not going to blow off your words."

" **Don't lie to me.** " There was a sharpness to his words that Oscar hadn't intended.

"I'm not lying to you, Oscar. I trust you."

"Liar."

"Oscar"-

"You don't trust anyone. I don't even know what compelled me to ever think I could trust you. You've done nothing but hurt me."

" **Oscar** "-

"If you want me to believe a word you say, I'm expecting you to do something about the words I have already spoken."

"It's not that simple"-

"Of course it isn't simple! It's impossible! It's overwhelming! But you have better odds right now than we ever did. And we've never lost. Do things now when it's impossible to save us, _children,_ later when it's insurmountable. Aren't you getting tired of watching children die in your war?"

"I'm doing my best"-

"Your best isn't good enough!"

"Then what do you expect me to do?"

"Stop doing **your** best."

"I'm sorry"-

"Stop making it about you. This has never been about you."

Oscar watched carefully as Oz forced himself to feign calmness again.

"It was never about you. It's always been about humanity. You can't stop Ironwood, but Robyn Hill can. You can't stop Lionheart, but Raven Brawnwen can. All you need to do is guide people. Stop playing god for five seconds and stop wallowing in self-pity, and maybe you'll finally get somewhere. You've got a team. Not pawns. And if you don't think it's possible, get comfortable, because you're about to watch me do it."

"Oscar"-

"Goodnight Oz. I think I need to leave now."

"You can't just leave"-

"If something is going to keep you up tonight, let it be about Hazel, not me. You need a better plan to deal with him other than violence. Smacking a grieving person on the head only makes them cry harder."

"Oscar"-

"Goodnight."

Qrow pinned Oscar into the hug, "yeah that's cute, kid, but you don't get to just leave like that."

Oscar hated how Oz smiled softly in response to that. Like he was grateful to Qrow for further pissing off the future-knowing child.

_I could fight my way out or I could try to talk my way out._

_I won't succeed either way._

_Maybe I play along. Act patient. Wait for a better opportunity._

Oscar sat still, letting himself fall limp, passive.

_At some point, they have to go to sleep. As long as they don't strap me down, I'm in the clear._

_If I fake an emotional breakdown, maybe they'll just think I'm overwhelmed._

_They're more likely to blow off my warnings._

_Who am I kidding, even if they did their best, there wouldn't be a noticeable impact. They don't know what they're fighting just yet._

Oscar let out a cry and chaotically blasted magic- focused so it wouldn't injure anyone. 

_Let them think I passed out from blowing my energy. Let them think they've won._

* * *

Ruby had to check her scroll for the date when she finally woke up. She seemed to be the first one awake. _Great._

She washed up, knowing that Blake would wake up to her noise shorty so she might as well have the bathroom before Blake felt like getting up. 

After washing up, she texted Jaune.

Blake got up, then Weiss, who poked Yang awake because 'she didn't want Yang to be up later than the rest of them and leave the lights on.' Ruby didn't mind.

Yang was the one who spotted a note on their dresser. 

"Hey Ruby, check it out, Uncle Qrow is in town!"

"Really? No way!"

"Yeah, and apparently he... borrowed some of our clothes?"

"What?"

"Here, I'll just read it. It says: Ruby, I'm sorry for borrowing your clothes like this but you were gone and we needed supplies for someone your height. I snuck a picture of the kid in your pink pajamas, which he proceeded to shred somehow. Long story, weird semblance, things got crazy. I'll get ya new ones. Anyway, I hope you girls had a fun time at Mount Glenn. Thanks for doing me a favor without your permission. If you have any questions, ask JNPR. I'll be in town for a while if you need anything. Love you girls, Uncle Qrow."

Wiess retorted, "I'm calling Jaune."

"Agreed," Blake said, annoyance clear on her face, "what did he mean by 'borrowing your clothes?' What did he take?"

Ruby shrugged. "Jaune said his team would love to meet us for dinner and catch up if you'd rather do that than call him."

"Yep," Wiess popped the p, looking to Ruby to get on it.

"Uh huh, gotcha. I'll let him know."

* * *

Jaune smiled at the sight of team RWBY settling back in at one of the cafeteria tables. Ren had picked out a feast for the group.

"So how was the mission"-

"Nuh uh. What's this about Qrow borrowing clothes?" Wiess glared at Jaune. 

"Oh! Yeah, your Uncle came by and we figured you guys wouldn't mind. We uh, let him into your room. Was that not okay? or?"

"It's fine, Jaune," Ruby cut Wiess off before she threw a fit, "we just want to know what happened. Uncle Qrow's note wasn't exactly thorough."

"Well, there's this kid, Oscar Pine. He has some sort of memory semblance that makes people forget things. He's here to get help. We've met him, actually. It's kind of under the radar, so ya know, don't broadcast it."

"Why not send him to Signal if he's still a kid?"

"Professor Ozpin thinks he can make people forget him. In fact, from what we could tell, we've met him, but we only remember the most recent time."

"What? People just... forget him?"

"Seems like it. It seems like he can make you forget how to control your semblance too."

"Yeah," Nora butted in, "we got to see Professor Ozpin's semblance!"

Ruby felt a jolt of fear bolt through her stomach. _That's crazy powerful._ _A kid did that to Professor Ozpin?_

"We're trying to help, actually," Pyrrha said. "I hate how scared Oscar must be. It would be terrifying to wake up one morning and have everyone in your family think you're an intruder."

"Is that what happened?" Blake asked.

"We don't know for certain, but it seems his Aunt, the person he was staying with, hadn't noticed him going missing for months until Oscar was knocked unconscious. Then suddenly she reported him missing, claiming it had only been about a day. Oscar crossed the globe before she remembered him."

"The whole thing is quite interesting," Ren said, casually buttering a roll, "we've been doing some digging."

"More like snooping and stealing," Nora whispered rather loudly. Ren just rolled his eyes at her antics.

"So what do you make of it? A kid who can make you forget he ever existed?" Jaune looked to team RWBY, intrigued.

"It sounds awful. I can't imagine how lonely that would be, especially if he can't control it," said Wiess.

"That's what I was thinking too. He can't keep any friends," Pyrahh agreed.

Blake scowled, "so we're going to do something, right? We're not just going to walk away?"

"I mean, the adults may be a bit better at handling this one," Yang added. "They're professors with years of training and dealing with semblances."

"Yeah, but they're not his age. He should have friends his age!" said Pyrrha.

"True, but we're not exactly his age, now are we?"

"Ruby is."

All eyes turned to Ruby, who was shoving her face full of mashed potatoes. She promptly stopped and swallowed, nearly choking herself. "You know I'm friends with you guys even though you're all older than me, right? Like it's not that weird?"

* * *

Ruby looked around the room, watching everyone's behavior closely. _I'm too tired to pull off "leader Ruby" but here I go._

"So, Operation Befriend Oscar Pine?"

Nods of agreement.

"So what should we do? Make a poster of him so we remember him every time we leave the dorm?"

Nora gasped, "I'm getting the glitter!"

"Nora!" Ren panicked.

_At least I don't have to think up more than one idea today._

Jaune laughed, "maybe first we hear about their mission?"

* * *

Jaune gave his team an assignment. They might not have ever been able to go on their mission to hide the flash drives for Professor Ozpin, but they could still split up and hide them in places the dropships went.

They agreed to only write down a hint in their Emotional Support Journals of where they hid it and they all set reminders on their scrolls.

Jaune told Ruby to set a reminder on her scroll the next day. Just in case.

Jaune was not surprised in the slightest that Nora was the first one back and already had an outline for the poster to put on the back of their dorm's door.

_There's going to be glitter on the carpet for days._

_I guess that acts as a reminder if the poster gets taken down. Accidental bonus!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that wasn't too boring, I know a lot of it was stuff you already knew. 
> 
> Prepare for some team RWBY and JNPR content!!! This story is going to transition a bit more to their group.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Updates can be irregular, but I make an effort to do at least once a week.**  
>  I've decided to start a Tumblr where I will update things. Feel free to say hi! http://idance2silence.tumblr.com/


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